February 18, 2025

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Diri: How I Paid Dearly For Rejecting Senegalese Ritualist Hired To Make Me Gov

3 min read

If you have ever been in doubt about the dirty things desperate politicians do to grab political power, either for themselves or for others, you don’t need to doubt again. The revelation by the Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri is a clear proof of the extent politicians can go for political power.

At a church service to mark the annual day of thanksgiving organized by the people of Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government of Bayelsa State where the governor comes from, Diri made a shocking revelation of how a senior citizen who wanted him as governor, went to Senegal to bring ritualists who were expected to perform rituals to open doors for him to win the 2019 election as governor.

Although, Diri did not mention the name of the senior citizen believed to be a top politician in the country. It happened at a time that Diri was challenging the APC candidate, David Lyon, who was declared winner of the election, but was sacked by the Supreme Court on the eve of his inauguration.

Diri told the crowd at the gathering that the senior citizen flew in some marabouts from Senegal to perform the rituals but that after he bluntly rejected the offer, the man demanded a refund of the money spent to transport them into the country and he had to pay him the sum of $10,000.

He explained that his unshaken faith in God made him decline the advice to look elsewhere for help, saying God, against all the odds, proved that He is always faithful and emphasised the need for politicians to learn from his experience and put their trust in God rather than in man

His words: “I thank God and also thank Apostle David Zilly Aggrey because he started this event. And because his prayers were heard, God made it possible to bring me in and today, it is by law that all Kolokuma/Opokuma people can gather to praise God.

“Let me reveal to you why it is important to thank God and have faith in Him. Sometime ago, a senior citizen of this country invited me to Abuja and asked me to perform certain sacrifices but I declined. I told him my faith in God will not allow me to do it. He got angry and told me I would never become governor.

“He told me that he had spent $10,000 to bring the people for the sacrifice and asked for a refund, which I obliged. When the Supreme Court’s pronouncement came, the man was shocked and could not call me. Sadly, he passed on after some time.

“The story I have narrated was witnessed by my deputy and a friend in Abuja as both of them accompanied me to visit the senior citizen. Kolokuma/Opokuma people have every reason to thank God. As a state, we do not want anybody to be harmed in the name of politics because we do not know who God has destined for greatness. So I call on all of us in the political game to be very civil and recognise that there is God who rules in the affairs of man.”

In his welcome address, the chairman of Kolokuma/ Opokuma Local Government Area, Tariye Lelei, said people of the area have reason to thank God for the gift of a governor.

He said it was in recognition of the goodness of God in their lives that the local government passed a legislation legalising the thanksgiving on January 17 annually.

In his sermon, Apostle David Zilly Aggrey said the younger generation might not understand the reason for the thanksgiving as they did not experience the difficulty older ones in the local government faced and said if they do not thank God for what He had done for them, they could be regarded as ingrates.

He said Bayelsa was witnessing tremendous development under Diri and thanked the people of the state for giving him the opportunity to serve a second term.

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