Bayelsa State governor, Douye Diri, has noted that real development will continue to elude Nigeria if the country is not restructured.
Diri who spoke on Thursday while delivering his welcome address at the ongoing All Editors' Conference in Yenegoa, the state capital, lamented that the oil producing states of the Niger Delta continues to suffer environmental degradation without the issues being addressed.
The said he recognized the role of the media as of the unofficial fourth arm of government, noting democracy is incomplete without the media.
"You role as guidance of truth and you must uphold that. The media in Nigeria is so crucial because of the abundance of of resources but paradoxically, ravaged by poverty," Diri said.
"So it is critical for the media to focus on that. For us in Bayelsa, a state where oil production started, with its attendant oil spoil and environmental degradation, which is mainly ignored, and our right trampled on, I am also a convert to the quest for a true federal system, which has remained the challenge to real development and without dealing with this, we are running in cycle.
"There is also need for reform of resource allocation and deprivation. We must address the issue of injustice in resource allocation and deprivation to endure that resource exploitation corresponds to damage to the environment. For instance, the flooding is perennial, and we need federal help."
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