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Tag: Bayelsa govt

  • Bayelsa govt urges politicians to shun violence

    Bayelsa govt urges politicians to shun violence

    Bayelsa State government has warned politicians against engaging in and sponsoring violence ahead of the general election.

    Information and Orientation Commissioner Mr. Daniel Iworiso Markson said it was wrong for politicians, who should be role models, to perpetrate violence.

    Speaking at an inter-ministerial briefing in Yenagoa, he advised such politicians to change.

    Said he: “Any politician, who takes over the mantle of leadership, should desist from violence. There is need to change the narrative because we do not need to win election through the barrel of gun.”

    Briefing people at the event, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters Chief Boma Spero-Jack said the government had zero tolerance for crime.

    He said the security outfit, ‘Operation Doo Akpo’, arrested 8,500 suspects in six years for crimes.

    Spero-Jack said the feat was achieved in collaboration with the police command and security infrastructure, built by Governor Seriake Dickson.

    He said the government had concluded arrangements to procure additional gunboats to check pirates’ activities.

    The aide said the state was ranked above other cities with advanced security technological installations, such as Lagos, Abuja and Johannesburg in South Africa.

    He said 16 patrol boats were acquired in 2012 to fight crimes, adding that the security outfit received 39,000 distress calls and 109 commendation calls.

    Spero-Jack described Bayelsa Integrated Security Strategy as a critical aspect of ‘Doo Akpor’, saying it had reduced the outfit’s response time to distress calls to about six minutes within Yenagoa metropolis.

    He attributed the success to the security surveillance equipment installed at the command and the state Security Control Centre (SCC).

    The governor’s adviser said the equipment were modern, which was attested to by Wikipedia.

    A security consultant to the governor, Mr. Fola Amao, highlighted the government’s efforts in implementing its zero tolerance for crime.

    He said the development earned the state a security award by Security Watch Africa as the most effective crime busting squad.

    Following the feat achieved in the security sub-sector, Amao said Bayelsa had been nominated again this year.

    He said the government had set up a juvenile detention centre to enhance security.

    The House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Security, Mr. Bernard Kenbai, representing Sagbama 2, hailed Dickson for his passion in ensuring that Bayelsa remained one of the safest states.

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Security, Chief Abednego Don Evareda, enjoined the people to see security as a collective responsibility.

  • Bayelsa urges politicians to shun violence

    Bayelsa urges politicians to shun violence

    The Bayelsa State Government has warned politicians against engaging sponsoring violence in the state ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Daniel Iworiso Markson, said it was condemnable for politicians, who should be role models, to perpetrate violence.

    Speaking at the ongoing inter-ministerial briefings in Yenagoa, Iworiso-Markson asked such politicians to turn a new leaf.

    “Any politician that takes over the mantle of leadership should desist from violence and there is need to begin to change the narrative because we do not need to win election through the barrel of the gun,” he said.

    Briefing the crowd of people, who attended the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Chief Boma Spero-Jack, said the government has zero tolerance to crime and criminality.

    He said the state security outfit codenamed: Operation Doo Akpo, arrested 8,500 suspects in six years for various crimes.

    He said the feat was achieved in collaboration with the Bayelsa State Police Command and security infrastructures built by the governor.

    Spero-Jack said the government has concluded arrangements to procure additional gunboats to check the activities of pirates on the waterways.

    He said the state was ranked above other cities with advanced security technological installations such as Lagos, Abuja and Johannesburg in South Africa.

    He said 16 patrol boats were acquired in 2012 to fight crimes, adding that the security outfit received 39,000 distress calls and 109 commendation calls.

     

     

  • Bayelsa urges youths to shun kidnapping, armed robbery

    Bayelsa urges youths to shun kidnapping, armed robbery

    The Bayelsa State Government has warned youths against engaging in kidnapping, armed robberies and other social vices in the state.

    The government appealed to executive committees of youth organisations to discourage their members from acts capable of affecting their future negatively.

    The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, spoke on Wednesday when he addressed the new executive members of the Bayelsa Youth Federation (BYF) in his office.

    He said most state government programmes and policies were designed for a better life for youths following their critical roles in the state.

    He said the present administration recognized the importance of youths and was working very hard to secure their future.

    He enjoined them to reciprocate the gesture by supporting the various developmental programmes of government.

    Iworiso-Markson frowned at some youths, who still engaged in social vices and charged the new executives to join the government to preach against kidnapping, armed robbery and other negative acts.

  • Bayelsa govt dismisses rumoured review of Supreme Court ruling

    Bayelsa govt dismisses rumoured review of Supreme Court ruling

    •‘APC, Sylva planning to create confusion’

    The Bayelsa State Government yesterday dismissed the speculation that the Supreme Court is reviewing its judgment in the governorship case between Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Chief Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Dickson winner, prompting Sylva to seek legal redress from the Election Petitions Tribunal to the Supreme Court.
    The state has been unsettled by a widespread rumour that the apex court was reviewing the judgment.
    Promoters of the speculation were said to be claiming that the review was designed by the court to overrule itself in favour of Sylva and order his swearing-in tomorrow.
    But the government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, described the speculation as complete falsehood.
    Obuebite said: “Our attention has been drawn to rumours making the rounds that …Chief Sylva is due to be sworn in this Thursday based on a phantom Supreme Court decision.
    “Ordinarily, we would have ignored this latest falsehood and chicanery by the APC but because it is intended to throw the state into confusion and undermine the current peace, we are unequivocally clearing the air.
    “First, we want to dismiss the strange story as it is complete fiction that exists only in the dubious imagination of the originators. It has become very clear that the APC and its agents feed fat on deceit.
    “The landmark judgment of the Supreme Court on November 8, 2016, was very clear in affirming the election of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson. All seven justices who sat on the case were unanimous in their judgment and we have copies of it, especially the lead judgment.”
    The commissioner said the promoters of the report were trying to woo gullible Bayelsa residents to gather somewhere and give a historic welcome to Sylva “who is planning to visit the state openly, for the first time, after he was roundly defeated”.
    The statement added: “Their intent is also to attract cheap publicity through the planned stage-managed reception and at the end tell Sylva that he is still on the ground when in actual fact he is not.
    “Thirdly, having exposed the reason for the rumour, we call on security agents in the state to go after those behind it and ensure they are dealt with accordingly. This way, the peace of the state will be maintained and never again will anyone or group attempt to carry out such mischief.
    “We also call on Bayelsa residents not to allow themselves to be used by cohorts of Sylva for what is completely nugatory. Any call to gather anywhere, including the Port Harcourt International Airport, should be completely ignored.
    “Lastly, we want to emphasise that as a government that has sworn to protect the lives, property and integrity of the people, no amount of political brinkmanship and unbridled offensive/attack will make us poignant and distract us from our mandate, which is the thrust we have with our people.”

  • We’ve invested N33b in education, says Bayelsa govt

    The Bayelsa State Government has said it invested N33 billion on infrastructure and other facilities in the Education sector.

    Education Commissioner Markson Fefegha said the investment was in line with the state of emergency the Seriake Dickson administration declared in 2012.

    A statement by Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the commissioner spoke at the weekend when the governor hosted principals and vice-principals to a state dinner.

    Fefegha said the government was faced with falling standard of education and infrastructural decay on its assumption of office in 2012.

    Addressing the school administrators, Dickson promised to begin an annual merit award, year, to enable deserving heads of primary and secondary schools to consolidate investments in the Education sector.

    The governor urged them to see their jobs as a sacred calling aimed at nurturing young minds.

    He advised them to key into his administration’s vision for the sector, describing them as the fulcrum to drive the process.

    Referring to the education challenges in the state as monumental, Dickson expressed optimism that the vision for the sector would be realised with the implementation of his programmes and projects.

    The governor said the new model schools had received facilities, adding that all stakeholders should sustain the current achievements of his administration.

    He said: “The results of the West African Senior School Certificate (WASSC) and other examinations are indications that the investment in the sector is paying off. This is also due to the commitment of the principals and the teachers.

  • Alamieyeseigha: Court strikes out suit against EFCC

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit brought against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and its Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, by the Bayelsa State Government over the commission’s alleged refusal to remit back the funds recovered from former governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    The court’s decision was informed by a sudden change of mind by the government, who filed a notice of discontinuance through its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

    The suit was instituted on behalf of the state by the Managing Director of Panic Alert Security System (PASS), George Uboh‎ and a lawyer, Anthony Agbonlahor, who were mandated by the state to help recover the funds – N1.4billion and another 1.3 million USD – said to have been recovered from Alamieyesiegha ‎on his conviction by a Federal High Court in Lagos on July 26, 2007.

    The state had asked the court to among others, order EFCC to pay 21 per cent interest on the N1.4 billion and the $1.3 million from November 1, 2013 until judgment was delivered by the court.

    It prayed the court to, “direct EFCC to pay to it $400,000.00 being the amount forfeited by its former governor and which funds had since been repatriated by the United States Government to the EFCC.‎”

    Baylesa urged the court to declare as corrupt acts, the refusal of the commission to remit back to it, the recovered funds, and that the decision by the EFCC to continue “trading with the funds by way of funds placement/fixed deposits, is an act of corruption and an economic crime contrary to sections 6 and 7 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.

    The state also asked the court to declare that Lamorde who took part in the investigation and prosecution ‎of Alamieyesiegha‎ ‎should not have allowed the looted funds recovered from the former governor to be traded with.

    It urged the court to hold that Lamorde was not qualified to continue as chairman of EFCC having violated his oath of office.

     

  • Bayelsa govt urged to enhance grassroots sports devt

    Bayelsa govt urged to enhance grassroots sports devt

    The coach, Bayelsa Basketball Association, Nelson Torunarigha, on Wednesday urged the state government to enhance the promotion of the game by taking its sports development programmes to the grassroots.

    Torunarigha told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa that providing facilities in the rural areas would go a long way to popularise basketball in Bayelsa.

    “It is true that most of our players in Bayelsa do not have sponsors and no motivation from the private and public organisations.

    “So, the government needs to put in place an elaborate and sustainable plan to develop modern sporting infrastructure and funding. The government should also provide programmes to follow up grassroots sports development to enrich basketball like other games,” he said.

    Torunarigha, who is also the coach of St. Jude’s Girls Secondary School, Yenagoa, said inadequate sponsorship and lack of equipment were the bane of basketball development in the state.

    NAN reports that St. Jude’s won the female category of the 15th Nestle Milo Secondary School Basketball Championships in Lagos in July.

    Torunarigha attributed the school’s victory at the championships to hard work, determination and God’s favour.

    “Well, we performed excellently at the 2013 Nestle Milo championships; my team triumphed over Government Secondary School, Gboko, Benue, 26-18 points to win the trophy.”

  • Bayelsa denies $250m stake in power company

    Bayelsa denies $250m stake in power company

    The Bayelsa State Government on Thursday denied acquiring $250m stake in a private power distribution company, 4 Power Consortium.

    But the government in a press briefing after its Executive Council meeting in Yenagoa said the state only bought two per cent shares into the power company.

    The Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Ikio Francis, refused to disclose the financial implication of the two per cent investment.

    He said: “The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has two per cent in the company. The Bayelsa Electricity Company has two per cent. I only know about two per cent. Anybody who says it amounts to $250m is peddling rumour.”

    Despite prodding by journalist, Ikio held his ground, refusing to disclose the amount.

    The briefing came shortly after opposition accused the government of poor investment decision, wondering how it committed such amount for just two per cent interest.

    Opposition also claimed that the government paid the amount to cover other influential persons in the state who bought shares in the company.

    But Ikio debunked claims that the government paid too much for too little.

    He said: “To say that we don’t have control over the company is wrong. Control over a company depends on your shareholding. I don’t know the sum paid. I will restrain myself from talking about the figure. The records are there.”

    He said the state got involved in the deal as an investor, adding that the people of the star would reap the future benefits of the investment.

    “Our investment is not wasted. There is hope that 4 Power will change the service delivery in the state,” he said.

    Ikio was joined at the briefing by the Commissioner for Information, Deacon Markson Fefegha and the Commissioner for Capital City Development, Mr. Zuwa Konugha.

    Fefegha said that details and records of the transaction were domiciled in the Bayelsa Investment Development Corporation.

     

     

     

  • Bayelsa govt invests N1.17bn on aquaculture farms

    BAYELSA State government is investing N1.17bn on aquaculture farms; fish processing and storage facilities, while its foreign partners will source N2.73bn for the project. The project is expected to gulp N3.9bn. Disclosing this at an interactive session with newsmen, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Thomas Commander said the government has signed a pact with two foreign technical partners to establish aquaculture farms, fish processing and storage facilities in the state to boost food production for local consumption and export. Dr. Commander said the present administration is taking a giant leap to diversify the economy from oil and gas by taking advantage of its climate that is ideal for massive rice, cassava, banana, fisheries and aquaculture production. Bayelsa govt invests N1.17bn on aquaculture farms According to him, “P and R International, which is one of the partners, is going to establish a fish farm with a capacity of about 1500 metric tons of cat fish with 500 metric tons of tilapia, making a total of 2000 metric tons of fish per annum. “In view of the volume of fish that would be produced, they have been asked to also establish a fish processing factory with a capacity of 2500 Metric Tons and a cold storage facility These three components amount to 24 million US dollars with a naira equivalent of about N3.9bn. That is the cost, but this amount is to be shared across three important componentsfish farm, fish processing factory and the cold storage facility, which has never happened in Nigeria. So it is cost effective and we are sure that we have done the best thing. “In this amount, 30% is what the state is going to pay while the partners are going to source for 70% of this fund. However, there is an agreement that whatever they bring in will be paid back over 24 months.”

  • Bayelsa govt, clans, slam Shell ‘failed promises’

    The Bayelsa State Government and leaders of the oil bearing communities in Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor local governments have lambasted the management of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) for “failure to implement agreement reached with Nembe people.”

    Deputy Governor John Jonah accused Shell of failing to implement the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) and completing the Nembe Road project.

    Speaking at the inauguration of 35 cars handed to beneficiaries under a revolving loan scheme and printing press for the Nembe cluster communities, Jonah, who represented Governor Seriake Dickson, said the government is unhappy with the delay in the completion of a link road to Nembe.

    On their parts, the elders of 12 communities in Kou, Iduwini, Mein and Basan also threatened to shut down operations at Shell’s E A field and Sea Eagle over the company’s alleged refusal to honour an agreement with the community.

    Their position was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the clan heads of oil bearing communities in the two local governments.

    The statement, by the State Coordinator for Leadership Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, John Isiayei, said: “The communities and Shell entered into an agreement of vessel supply, AGO (automotive gas oil), catering and employment but since 2011 none has been attended to.

    “Shell should take advantage of the existing peace in the region by honouring the GMoU with the four clans to avert any crises .

    “Shell should also pay the compensation on the Bonga oil spill.”