Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has disclosed how he paid $10,000 to marabouts from Kenya who were contracted to perform spiritual rituals to secure his emergence as governor.
However, he said he firmly rejected the ritual process, trusting God.
OsunDailyNG reports that Diri shared this revelation on Friday during the KOLGA (Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area) Annual Day of Thanksgiving, which was held in Sampou, his hometown.
He said his steadfast faith in God, even in the face of adversity, earned him the nickname ‘Miracle Governor.’
I Rejected Rituals For Governorship
The governor narrated an incident in 2020 when a senior citizen invited him to Abuja and advised him to undergo certain rituals to ensure his governorship bid was successful.
At the time, Diri, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 off-cycle governorship election, was challenging the declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, David Lyon, as the winner.
According to Diri, the individual flew in marabouts from Senegal to perform the rituals while the case was still pending at the Supreme Court. Diri said he declined the offer outright, despite the pressure.
“When the man insisted on being reimbursed for bringing in the marabouts, I refunded him $10,000 for the expenses incurred,” Diri revealed.
Reflecting on his victory, Diri said his decision to rely solely on God against all odds was vindicated when the Supreme Court declared him governor.
“God showed that He is always faithful. My victory is proof that no man can determine your destiny when God is involved,” Diri stated.
The governor advised politicians to learn from his experience and trust in divine guidance rather than human manipulations.
Diri highlighted the development strides in the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area, attributing the progress to the grace of God.
He commended the local government for institutionalizing the thanksgiving day through legislation and expressed gratitude to Apostle David Zilly Aggrey, the programme’s convener, and others who have sustained it.
He said, “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 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.
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.
