Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa state has declared Friday, April 5th 2024, as a work-free day for civil servants to enable them to travel to their respective areas, to participate in the local government elections billed for Saturday, April 6th.
This was contained in a memo signed by the Head of the Bayelsa State Civil Service Biobelemoye Charles-Onyema and released to the press on Thursday, April 4th.
The state's civil servants on essential duty are exempted from the work-free day, the memo added.
Ahead of the election, political parties apart from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state have been quiet and are yet to field candidates for Saturday’s local government poll in the oil-rich state.
Bayelsa is the smallest in Nigeria by population as of the 2006 census. Located in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation.