Biography
PROFILE
HON. DOUYE DIRI
Autobiography
Governor Douye Diri was born 62 years ago into the family of A.J.M Diri of Kalamaowei-wari compound of Sampou Town in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Hon. Douye began his education The young Diri began his education at Okoro Primary School, Sampou, and later moved to State School, Kaiama (now Rev. Proctor Memorial Primary School, Kaiama) where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate.
He completed his secondary school education at Government Secondary School, Odi, in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in 1981.
In secondary school, he was the Dining Hall Prefect, signaling a journey into leadership.
He thereafter proceeded to the College of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for his Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). Seeking higher academic qualification, Diri proceeded to the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and obtained his Bachelor of Education degree in Political Science.
Diri ventured into the teaching profession very early and that was based on his desire to join hands toward building the younger generation with sound foundation. He taught in several government secondary schools in the rural areas of the old Rivers State. He later left the classroom and ventured into business before joining active politics.
Diri joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998. He was earlier elected the pioneer National Organising Secretary of the foremost pan-Ijaw socio-cultural organisation, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), in 1992.
He was appointed Executive Secretary, Centre for Youth Development in Bayelsa State between 2000 and 2002 during the tenure of its first civilian governor, the late Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
He also served the state as Commissioner for Youth and Sports during Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration as governor between 2006 and 2007 after which he became a member of the Governing Council of the University of Maiduguri from 2008 to 2012.
In his service to the party, Diri was appointed chairman of the PDP Disciplinary Council in Bayelsa State in 2012. He was also deputy chairman of the PDP National Convention Committee, which held a hitch-free convention in October 2021 that paved the way for the emergence of the current national officers of the party.
A strong and committed member of the Bayelsa State Restoration Caucus, Diri was fully involved in the election of former Governor Henry Seriake Dickson in 2012 and in his re-election in 2015.
Under the Restoration Administration, Diri was in August 2012 appointed Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, and a year later was appointed Principal Executive Secretary to the Governor, a position he held until 2014 when he was elected into the House of Representatives to represent Yenagoa/Kolokuma/ Opokuma Federal Constituency.
Not done, he moved up in his political career in 2019 when he was elected to represent Bayelsa Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly
The very sociable and sports-loving Diri contested for the Bayelsa governorship seat in November 16, 2019 on the platform of the PDP but had to wait for his mandate to be restored by the Supreme Court on February 13, 2020 through a landmark pronouncement. And on February 14, 2020, the Distinguished Senator Douye Diri was sworn in as the fifth civilian governor of Bayelsa State.
He is a Christian and happily married with children.