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Tag: Alamieyeseigha

  • ‘PDP not an Ijaw party’

    The Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressive Congress on Sunday blasted a former Governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, for insisting at various fora that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is an Ijaw party.

    A stalwart of APC and the party’s Publicity Secretary in Nembe local government area of the state , Mr. Wilfred Ogbotobo, said rather than fanning embers of ethnicism, Alamieyeseigha should tell the people of Bayelsa the concrete achievements of Governor Seriake Dickson and ex- President Goodluck Jonathan to deserve their support again.

    He said: “Rather than declaring PDP an Ijaw party, which is a non issue, former governor Alamieyeseigha should enlighten the people of the state by pinpointing concrete achievements of Jonathan and Dickson to support Dickson’s second term bid.”

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Ogbotobo said Alamieyeseigha’s declaration was huge mockery to the Ijaw and the PDP, which hitherto had claimed to be the biggest party in Africa.

    He said far from being an Ijaw party, PDP was a platform used to impose irresponsible leadership on the Ijaw nation.

    “PDP has never been and will never be an Ijaw party. It is a satanic platform that facilitated the emergence of some of the worst political leaders from the Ijaw ethnic nationality in the 21st century.

    “And we want to agree with former President Jonathan’s statement that this election is beyond Dickson. In this election, certain mysteries would have to be unlocked. Existing relationships would have to be reassessed. Decisions have to be made. A path has to be strewn on which we can move steadily and assuredly toward our collective destiny.

    “Bayelsans should rely on the APC as the PDP has successfully made itself unreliable. Former President Goodluck Jonathan eulogised achievements of Dickson in the areas of infrastructural development and security, payment of workers’ salaries and reduction of the state’s debt profile.

    “We sincerely believe that Jonathan sleep-walked to the endorsement rally for Dickson because he could not cite a single worthy project as outstanding testimony to his six years at the Presidency and the four years of Dickson whom he imposed on Bayelsa people.

  • £5m Alamieyeseigha looted fund given to Bayelsa govt

    £5m Alamieyeseigha looted fund given to Bayelsa govt

    More than £5 million recovered from the funds stolen by former Bayelsa State Governor Dieprieye  Alamieyeseigha was handed back to the state government in 2012, it was learnt at the weekend.

    Nigeria’s retiring High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Dr. Dalhatu Tafida who broke the news at the at the weekend in Birmingham where he spoke with the Nigerian community on the amount of stolen funds received from the UK by the Federal Government through its High Commission in London.

    Tafida’s visit to Birmingham was part of a thank-you-tour as his tenure ends on August 15, after an eight-year stint as Nigeria’s chief envoy in the UK. He had earlier visited Manchester, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Newcastle and Belfast.

    According to Tafida, the £5 million was received from the British authorities and handed over to two government officials from Bayelsa State, who came to London for the transfer.

    He told his audience that the money was lodged a Bayelsa State government account with the London branch of First Bank Plc.

    Alamieyeseigha, who was impeached, tried and convicted, got a presidential pardon in March 2013 – courtesy of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Justifying the clemency extended to Alamieyeseigha, a former presidential adviser to Dr. Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe had told reporters in 2013 that the former governor was pardoned because he had been remorseful.

    “He was tried, jailed and dispossessed of his property. He has been remorseful and there is no law against the granting of pardons to any criminal,” Okupe had said.

    Alamieyeseigha was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September 2005 by the Metropolitan Police and initially remanded but later granted bail.

    In breach of his bail requirements, he left the UK and returned to Nigeria in 2005. He entered a plea bargain in a Federal High Court after being convicted on six counts of making false declaration of assets.

    Part of the money recovered, according to the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank, consisted of $1.5 million in cash, seized at the time of arrest and $2.7 million held in bank accounts (Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, Santolina Investment Corporation account in excess of GBP 1.8 million) and London real estate worth $15 million (four properties registered under Solomon & Peters Ltd. as sole proprietor).

    In May 2006, a London court ordered the confiscation of the seized cash pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act, after Mr. Alamieyeseigha skipped bail and returned to Nigeria; bank accounts and London real estate were confiscated pursuant to a December 2007 United Kingdom High Court summary judgment; and a July 2008 judgment left to confiscation of remaining assets in the United Kingdom, Denmark and Cyprus.

    Pursuant to his July 2007 plea in Nigerian High Court, he was sentenced to a two-year prison term and his assets in Nigeria were ordered seized.

    Commenting on the alleged refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to ride in a Rolls Royce from the Heathrow Airport when visiting Britain as a president- elect in May 2015, Tafida said it was untrue that Buhari declined the offer.

    The envoy said: “The story is not true. It didn’t happen. I went to the airport to receive him right from the plane. I took him to where he stayed and we left back to Nigeria together.

    He rode from the airport with me in my official car, which is a bullet proof Mercedes Benz (marked FGN1). To God who made me, Buhari did not refuse anything we gave him. That was what I gave him for the six days he spent. Even, when he took over, I called him, I spoke to him. Buhari is my brother.”

    The retiring High Commissioner confirmed that the High Commision indeed has a Rolls Royce, “but we didn’t send rolls Royce to pick Buhari”.

  • Count me out of Bayelsa guber race – Alamieyeseigha

    Count me out of Bayelsa guber race – Alamieyeseigha

    Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, has distanced himself from the forthcoming governorship race in the state.

    The former governor on Friday reacted to a report that he was planning to join the governorship race on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    But Alamieseigha in a statement in Yenagoa described as complete fallacy and an act of mischief, the reports that he was interested in the race.

    The former governor said he neither nursed nor discussed such plans with anybody and called on his teeming supporters and the people of the state to regard the reports as the handiwork of mischief makers.

    Alamieyesiegha said he remained a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and had no intention to abandon the party to seek an office under the platform of another party.

    He said he would rather support and contribute to ongoing efforts at rebuilding and repositioning the PDP.

    Alamieyeseigha reaffirmed his total support for the administration of Mr. Seriake Dickson and expressed satisfaction with the performance of the PDP-controlled government in the state.

     

  • Alamieyeseigha, Alaibe eye Bayelsa APC governorship ticket

    Alamieyeseigha, Alaibe eye Bayelsa APC governorship ticket

    EX-Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha is seeking a return to the Government House on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), it was learnt yesterday.

    The former Bayelsa helmsman was impeached on December 9, 2005, two years into his second term in office, on allegations of acts of malfeasance.

    It was also gathered that an ex-Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe, is interested in the APC ticket ahead of the 2016 governorship election.

    Others said to be eyeing the party’s ticket include APC chieftain and former Governor Timipre Sylva; former Health Commissioner Frank Akpoebi; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power Godknows Igali and APC State Chairman Tiwe Oruminighe.

    It was learnt that Preye Aganaba (aka Prince of Odi), who lost his senatorial bid, is being prepared by Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi to go for the party’s ticket.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said Alamieyeseigha, the state’s first elected governor, was nurturing his ambition to return to the Creek Haven, the sobriquet for the Government House in Yenagoa, on the platform of APC.

    The source said the former governor and Igali are plotting to wrest power from the Governor Seriake Dickson.

    It was learnt that the duo had been meeting in the last two weeks in Abuja to finetune their plots.

    The source added that both men met last Friday at the late Oronto Douglas’ home, after a condolence visit, to discuss their plan.

    Alamieyeseigha became governor  in 1999 and was re-elected for a second term in 2003.

    But he was embroiled in allegations of corruption and money laundering.

    He was impeached by the House of Assembly, prosecuted and convicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Alamieyeseigha was succeeded by his deputy, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2005.

    The ex-governor got the President’s  State pardon on March 12, 2013.

    The source said: “Alamieyeseigha is eyeing the governorship seat. His plan is to make a return to the seat of power in 2016. He has been holding a series of meetings with some APC stalwarts.

    “He is assuring the APC leadership that with him at the helm, the militants would feel comfortable. He is saying Governor Dickson is not liked by former militants, citing the clash between the governor and ex-agitators over pipeline contracts.”

    But when reminded that President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has a zero tolerance for corruption and may not allow the like of Alameiyesegha to become candidates of the party, the source said the former governor is banking on his closeness to some APC leaders.

    The source said: “He is banking on his relationship with some national leaders of the APC to market him to Buhari because he knows that ordinarily, the President-elect would not give him a chance, regardless of the Presidential pardon granted him.

    “But we know that Dickson still stands a good chance of retaining his seat in 2016, given his performance and strong progressive contacts within the APC as a former member and leader in the Alliance for Democracy (AD).”

    But another source in the APC said the state leadership of the party had placed an embargo on the influx of defectors pending the swearing in of the President-elect.

    Without the embargo, he said a gale of defections to the APC would have hit the PDP in the state.

    “Major PDP stakeholders are warming up to join the APC in the state. We are going to be busy welcoming them. Most of them will be coming with governorship ambitions,” the source added.

     

  • Mark, Alamieyeseigha, ERA/FoEN shocked

    Mark, Alamieyeseigha, ERA/FoEN shocked

    Senate President David Mark, former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) yesterday described the death of Mr. Oronto Douglas, special adviser, Research and Strategy to President Goodluck Jonathan, as devastating.

    Mark, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja, condoled with Jonathan and the government and people of Bayelsa State on the sad incident.

    He lamented that Douglas left when his services were most needed.

    The Senate president said: “It is sad that Douglas died in his prime when the nation needed his services. Douglas was a scholar in his own right. He was resourceful and dedicated. He was a think-tank, who left a vacuum too difficult to fill.

    “I earnestly share in this grief, even as I pray that God in His infinite mercy grant the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.”

    He counselled the bereaved family to take solace that the late Douglas lived an eventful life and left his footprints on the sands of time.

    Alamieyeseigha described him as someone, who never disappoint in any assignment given to him.

    Douglas’s illness, he said, was well-known to many of his friends, whom he said had been praying for God’s miracle to heal him.

    “His death was a great shock to me. I will conclude that he was an accomplished man, articulate, sound mentally, he was fearless and bold,” he said.

    ERA/FoEN, in a statement, described his demise as a loss to the nation and the human rights community.

    Douglas, who died of cancer-related complications yesterday, co-founded ERA/FoEN in 1993, with former chair of Friends of the Earth International Nnimmo Bassey and ERA/FoEN Executive Director Godwin Ojo.

     “Oronto was a model of relentless and untiring defence of the oppressed and the cause of the environment; the cause for which he was molested and suffered greatly.  He was the voice of the voiceless and a strong defender of freedom of speech. He was an epitome of peace, justice and the rule of law. Nigeria has lost a rare gem,” Head of Media, ERA/FoEN Philip Jakpor quoted Ojo as saying in a statement yesterday.

    Ojo added: “Nigerians and particularly the human rights community will never forget his dogged struggle during the military repression years, particularly during the General Ibrahim Babangida and General Sani Abacha years, when the rule of law was trampled upon with impunity.

    “We extend our condolences to Douglas family and pray that God will strengthen them at this time of grief.”

  • Alamieyeseigha’s son: Keyamo accuses govt

    Alamieyeseigha’s son: Keyamo accuses govt

    Activist-lawyer Mr Festus Keyamo has accused the Federal Government of double standards in its reaction to the death in Dubai of Oyamuyefa, son of a former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    He said the government reacted swiftly by calling on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities to find his killers, but did not issue any such statement when another citizen, Toba Folade, son of ace sport broadcaster, Mrs Aisha Falode, was killed in Dubai.

    According to Keyamo, that amounts to double standards and gives the impression that the lives of some citizens are more important than others.

    The lawyer said had the government spoken out against earlier murders of citizens abroad rather than being “lukewarm”, the incidents might have reduced.

  • Alamieyeseigha’s son dies in Dubai

    Alamieyeseigha’s son dies in Dubai

    •Body found on street

    A MAJOR calamity has hit former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    His son Oyemifa was found dead at the weekend on a Dubai, United Arab Emirates Street.

    The police claimed that Oyemifa committed suicide – a claim his family rejected.

    It was gathered that Oyemifa, second but last child in the family and a student, may have been killed.

    The police found his identity card on him, traced Oyemifa’s home and discovered that he came from “a big family”.

    It was gathered that shortly after knowing the background of the deceased, the policemen left but later returned to tell the family members in Alamieyeseigha ‘s house in Dubai that Oyemifa committed suicide.

    The policemen were said to have based their claims on an autopsy they said was conducted on the body.

    The news was broken to the former governor in Yenagoa on Sunday.

    Alamieyeseigha was said to have rejected the claims that his son, who was in his mid 20s, killed himself.

    He was said to have left for Dubai yesterday alongside his first son, Tonbra, to determine the circumstances of his son’s death.

    A member of the family, who did not want to be named, said Alamieyeseigha might stop over at Aso Rock in Abuja to brief President Goodluck Jonathan about the matter.

    The source said: “Actually, we got the information yesterday (Sunday). We didn’t initially believe it but we decided to call our family in Dubai to know what was happening.

    “They said the information they brought to them was that his body was found on the street in Dubai. After finding the body, they checked it and discovered his ID card.

    “They located the address through the ID card. After finding the house, they discovered that the deceased was a former governor’s son.

    “They later came back again with the story that they worked on the corpse and found out that he committed suicide. But Alamieyeseigha said he was going to Dubai himself to find out what really happened.

    “He left for Abuja along with his first son, Tonbra. From there, he may brief the President before going to Dubai.

    “We are still doubting the claims of suicide because we don’t know how the body of a person who committed suicide would be found on the street. It is quite unfortunate. We believe that the story was made up. What would have made him commit suicide?”

    Alamieyeseigha is unlikely to accept the suicide claims.

    When contacted through a text message by our correspondent, the aggrieved former governor said: “He was killed in Dubai.”

    President Goodluck Jonathan expressed shock at the death of the boy.

    In a statement by Dr. Reuben Abati, Dr. Jonathan said he received with shock and immense sadness news of the death of  Oyamuyefa in Dubai at the weekend.

    “On behalf of his family and the Federal Government, President Jonathan extends heartfelt condolences to Oyamuyefa’s father, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and his entire family on the untimely loss of a very dear son in the prime of his life.

    “The President and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, share their pain and grief over the death of Oyamuyefa in circumstances that are still unclear.

    “President Jonathan assures Chief Alamieyeseigha and his family of the full support of the Federal Government as they strive to unravel the true circumstances of the young man’s death.

    “He prays that God Almighty will receive Oyamuyefa’s soul and comfort his grieving parents and siblings.

  • Alamieyeseigha’s boyish, cowardly philosophy

    Alamieyeseigha’s boyish, cowardly philosophy

    BACK in the days when he was governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha attracted sympathy in his fight with former President Olusegun Obasanjo. No one thought the fight was principled, for both the then president, who fought maliciously, and the then governor, who also fought guiltily due to his serial malfeasances, were motivated by the wrong reasons and wrong philosophies.  It was also clear at the time that any sympathy Mr Alamieyeseigha attracted was due principally to the fact that he was oppressed and mistreated by Chief Obasanjo. It was difficult what to make of him, whether he was courageous in the fight or was full of surrender, only that Chief Obasanjo never gave him the chance to raise the white flag.

    But today, the former governor is a changed man and politician, indeed even a philosopher. He has changed unimaginatively but poignantly for the worst. The proof of that unflattering change is contained in his admonition of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, whose quarrel with President Jonathan has seemed to signpost all that is wrong with the Fourth Republic. Hear Mr Alamaiyeseigha: “I think there is no problem between Governor Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan. I think Amaechi should be humble enough to go to the President and say, ‘I am sorry’, because he has no place to go. A child that is not respectful will also not deserve respect from anyone. I have spoken to both of them. Jonathan has no issues. President of Nigeria is very powerful. I even told Amaechi: the first entity you cannot fight is Almighty God and the second entity is the government(President Jonathan). No matter how you interpret it, nobody can fight government(Jonathan) successfully.”

    With such outlandish views, it surprised no one Mr Alamieyeseigha was a colossal failure as governor. It is doubtful whether his groveling mind will allow him to amount to anything else apart from being a courtier. The fear, however, is wondering how many other public officials think the same way, and whether there is any divide between their public and private opinions, as Rivers State insinuated in their reply to the former Bayelsa governor’s gratuitous counsel? Perhaps, alarmingly, the president himself, not to talk of his wife, thinks he should be worshipped, and that any opposition to him or his ideas, assuming he has any, amounts to disrespect. It would in fact be interesting to know what the private opinions of Mr Alamieyeseigha and the current Governor, Seriake Dickson, are of President Jonathan and his obtruding wife. Nonetheless, we must judge Mr Alamieyeseigha by his public views, and as far as we know, those views are disgusting and humiliating.

  • Alamieyeseigha is a coward, says Amaechi

    Alamieyeseigha is a coward, says Amaechi

    •’He said Jonathan should rein in his wife’

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has described former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha as a coward.

    Amaechi was reacting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain’s advice that he should “retrace his steps, beg President Goodluck Jonathan and return to PDP”.

    The former governor, who was convicted of money laundering and corruption but was pardoned by Jonathan, gave the advice in an interview with New Telegraph at the weekend.

    Among other things, Alamieyeseigha said: “I think there is no problem between Amaechi and Jonathan. I think Amaechi should be humble enough to go to the President and say ‘I am sorry’, because he has no place to go. A child that is not respectful will also not deserve respect from anyone. I have spoken to both of them. Jonathan has no issues. The President of Nigeria is very powerful. I even told Amaechi that the first entity you cannot fight is Almighty God and the second entity is the government (President Jonathan). No matter how you interpret it, nobody can fight the government (Jonathan) successfully… Rivers State will never be surrendered to the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

    In a statement, Amaechi’s Chief Press Secretary, David Iyofor, said it was sad that the former governor was not bold enough to tell the world what he told him (Amaechi) in private.

    Iyofor said: “It is true that Amaechi does not have any personal issue with the President. And yes, when Alamieyeseigha came to the governor to discuss this issue, he said there was not much problem between the president and the governor, but he was not bold enough to say in that interview what he told the governor the problem was. He told Amaechi that he cannot understand why Mr. President cannot rein in, control or manage his wife. For him to go to the press to say something else is, indeed, most cowardly and timid.

    “How does one comprehend Alamieyeseigha’s logic or reasons for saying Amaechi should go and beg President Jonathan and retrace his steps? Please, to where should the governor retrace his steps to? Back to the PDP? The same PDP that Amaechi led Rivers people to support and give Mr. President over two million votes at the 2011 elections with nothing to show for it after almost four years! Instead, territories and oil wells belonging to the state are being given to other states.

    “Is he saying the governor cannot hold a contrary view from Mr. President on issues based on principles and the interest of Rivers State, because Mr. President is all powerful?

    “Alamieyeseigha’s understanding of respect, disrespect and desecration of the Office of the President is warped and, indeed, befuddling. For Alamieyeseigha, what amounts to disrespect and desecration of the Office of the President is Amaechi’s decision to stay with his people, fight for what is theirs and his dogged stubbornness and refusal to cede any part of Rivers State, including its oil wells, to Mr. President’s home state of Bayelsa! For him, the governor’s fight for the interest of Rivers State and its people is tantamount to disrespecting and desecrating the Office of the President. How preposterous!

    “Alamieyeseigha says APC will never take Rivers State! We feel pity for him. It is apparent that he lives in the past and has blindly refused to face reality. APC has since taken over Rivers State. APC is in control in Rivers State and Rivers people are fully with their governor in APC. If deluding himself to think otherwise would make Alamieyeseigha sleep well at night, then he can continue to live in dreamland.

    “While we do not begrudge Alamieyeseigha’s political affiliation or his decision to truckle, grovel and genuflect before whoever he so pleases, we demand that he respects Amaechi’s right to choose his political party and associates, and to disagree with anyone on principles and issues that are not in the interest of Rivers State and Rivers people.

    “Finally, we state categorically that Alamieyeseigha’s comment against Amaechi in that interview with New Telegraph on Saturday is an undisguised and disgraceful sycophantic voyage that a man of his standing should never have ventured into.”

  • Alamieyeseigha’s loot: Bayelsa denies filing case against EFCC

    Bayelsa State Government on Monday distanced itself from a suit asking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release N1.4 billion and $1.3million recovered from former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha to it, with interest.

    A statement signed by Governor Seriake Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the government was not part of the suit filed against EFCC.

    The government also disowned one Mr. George Uboh, Chief Executive of Panic Alert Security System, who was reported to have filed the matter on behalf of the state.

    “The Bayelsa State Government denies the reports and stated categorically clear that, it did not mandate any individual or firm to act on its behalf to request or institute any suit against the EFCC.

    “We frowned at the reports and called on the EFCC and the general public to disregard the publications”, the statement said.