April 29, (THEWILL) — Currently, no fewer than 175 indigenous contractors are spearheading various infrastructure projects across Bayelsa State. This significant local involvement underscores Governor Douye Diri’s commitment to empowering domestic firms and ensuring that the state’s massive 2026 works budget directly benefits the local economy.
The local contractors are said to be handling different road construction and pavilions, amongst others, in various towns and villages, including Yenagoa, the state capital.
Answering questions from members of the Federated Correspondent’s Chapel (FCC) of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) after a tour to some key project sites about involvement of local contractors, the commissioner of Works and Infrastructure, ESV Moses Teibowei, said Bayelsa indigenous contractors are carried along in terms of project execution in the state.
According to him, the Prosperity Government led by Senator Douye Diri has paid out as of January 2026 the whopping sum of ₦46 billion to local contractors.
“A bill of outstanding payment for January 2026 amounting to ₦46 billion has been paid; all these are local contractors, not Julius Berger or Setraco or any other giant construction firms. We have 175 local contractors. Some handle roads, pavilions, and others in our various communities.
“Talking about internal roads in Yenagoa, the state capital, you can take my word for it. The internal roads constructed by the Prosperity government are more than those constructed by any other government that has governed the state. There is no government since the creation of Bayelsa State that has constructed internal roads in Yenagoa like the Prosperity government.
“And I can also tell you that there is no governor in Bayelsa that has done more internal roads in our rural communities than Senator Douye Diri. Talking about the one that is dilapidated, we are on them, such as Saptex, Otiotio, Osiri, amongst others, are internal roads that are being reconstructed following their deplorable state. Journalists will be taken round the capital, Yenagoa, to see for themselves the number of internal roads this prosperous government has embarked upon.
“Our challenge is funding because we have taken so much. Now that we have two years left, we need to look at the jobs that have been awarded and how we will be able to pay for these jobs before we go into more jobs. I’m working with the commissioner for finance to see how we can be able to balance it, because at the end of the month, all the contractors are calling for payment, and then we have several internal roads within Yenagoa, and they are all asking for payment. We have that challenge.
“We need to balance all these things so that we won’t just be awarding and re-awarding. If we award and we don’t pay, it will turn out to be white elephant project, and we will not be able to meet up. The government is paying for the stadium, a nine-storey Secretariat building. It’s a lot, we need to balance our hearts to see how we will be able to meet all these commitments
“We have 30 internal roads currently going on, but we need to pay so that the contractors can go back and do the needful. With the increase in fuel and diesel, everything has gone up, and we can’t continue to award just like that”, the commissioner said.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
