The Media Centre for Promotion of Safety Awareness ( MCPOSA) is set to honour the , governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, with the double awards of Outstanding Safety and Security Governor of the Year, 2025 as well as Media Safety Ambassador.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director and a trustee of the centre, Dr Chinyere Amaechi and Mr Mack Ogbamosa, respectively,the event , which take place at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry House, Ikeja, Lagos, as part of the programme to mark World Safety Day on Wednesday, ( April 29), will also feature lectures by distinguished experts on safety and security.
According to the Centre, Diri is being honoured for the giant strides he has made in making his state peaceful,safe and secured. These strides, the statement added, were achieved through the following programmes:
. The formation of Bayelsa Safety Community Corps which harmonised all the various security outfits in the state.
. Introduction of crime prevention programmes in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as well the German Government.
. Installation of 200 CCTV cameras in strategic places in the state capital
. Provision of regional and border security between Bayelsa and neighbouring states
. Initiation of maritime surveillance to tackle insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea along the state’s waterways.
. Provision of vehicles to the police and other security outfits in the state.
.Construction of residential quarters for the Nigerian Army’s 16 Brigade
On his qualification for deserving the award of Media Safety Ambassador, the centre listed some of his contributions to press freedom to include:
. Construction and commissioning of Ernest Ikoli Media Complex to house the state’s three main media organs;
. Giving support to national broadcasters by facilitating the relocation of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) zonal office to Yenagoa;
. Directing the renovation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Bayelsa State Council Secretariat to address flooding and improve the working environment for journalists;
. Boosting the Bayelsa Media Awards (BMA) by endowing four specific categories (News Editor, Newscaster, Presenter, and Reporter of the Year);
. Providing operational gadgets to the Bayelsa Government New Media team to enhance digital communication of government policies; Consistently advocating for an “unfettered and independent press”;
. Hosting the 20th All Nigerian Editors’s Conference (ANEC) 2024 in Yenagoa, thereby positioning the state as a hub for national media discourse; and inaugurating the first-ever media summit organized by the Bayelsa NUJ Council to promote development journalism and indigenous perspectives.
