The Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri has vowed to partner with the Rotary International to help the global club achieve its aims and objectives.
The governor made the vow during the installation of the sixth governor of Rotary District 9141, Rotarian Mightyman Dikuro at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall of Government House in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital at the weekend.
The state governor commended rotary international for embanking on beautification of Yenagoa as part of its corporate social responsibilities, just as he enjoined Bayelsans and Nigerians at large to associate with life changing clubs such as rotary instead of joining secret societies that only end up in destroying their destinies and lead them to untimely deaths.
He said “we have been seeing different projects executed by the rotary club. But these days, there are people who want to belong to clubs. Some call them secret clubs but let me use this opportunity to tell our younger ones that the clubs they should belong to are the clubs we are seeing here today.”
Installing the incoming district governor, the outgoing one, Mr. Andy Uwejeyan thanked his team members and all Rotarians in the district for the immense support accorded him during his stay in office, urging them to transfer the same love and solidarity to the newly installed district governor.
Uwejeyan recalled that though his tenure was faced with daunting challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crunch, he was able to record unprecedented achievements in the history of the district.
He pointed out that one of his major achievements was growing the number of Rotarians in the district from 3,492 to 4,177 in a period of three years, adding that they ended the year with US$624,000 despite the harsh economic situation within the period under review.
“Our challenges were occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic crisis and the near collapsed world economic order that is affecting everyone and it also affects Rotarians because in rotary, we give and you can do that when your business is doing well; but when your business is threatened, there is little or nothing you can do.
“In spite of all these, we were able to prevail in a manner that had not happened before. We were able to raise a lot of funds for the foundation. We have raised our membership like never before because rotary membership is very important. So, in all, we have done pretty well ,”he concluded.
In his acceptance speech, the new district governor, Dikuro, thanked members for reposing their confidence in him, pledging that he would not disappoint but serve them with love and humility. He vowed to build on the achievements of his predecessor in line with the aims and objectives of rotary which include encouraging and fostering the ideals of service as a basis of worthy enterprise, noting that his tenure would witness rejuvenation of what rotary has been doing to touch lives since its foundation.
On the specific projects he has in mind, the district governor said “I will focus on maternal and child care, disease prevention and treatment, protecting the environment, water sanitation and hygiene projects as well as bring about basic education and literacy through awards of scholarships up to PhD level.”
The installation event featured awards of excellence to the best performing rotary clubs across Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states that made up the district 9141. The occasion also witnessed cultural displays as the award winning Bayelsa state cultural troupe was at its best, thrilling the audience silly, while Rotarians in their usual manners were in their glamorous attires that clearly debit culture and class in the Niger Delta.
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