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Tag: Bayelsa State

  • Residents tackle police over robberies, killings in Bayelsa

    Residents tackle police over robberies, killings in Bayelsa

    Residents, Saturday, carpeted the police in Bayelsa State, following widespread armed robberies, assassinations and killings in various parts of Yenagoa, the state capital.

    The residents accused the police command of failing to justify their presence in the state and the huge investments the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, said he had made on security.

    They wondered why crime rates had increased in the state a few weeks after the state government equipped the state security outfit, Operation Doo-Akpo with many patrol vans.

    Cultists, armed robbers and hired assassins are having a field day killing, maiming and stealing at will.

    Within a month, the state Chairman of Cattle Breeders Association (CBA), Alhaji Jubril Abdulkarim and three of his employees were assassinated in Yenagoa.

    A former Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Mr. Ayakeme Masa, was murdered in his house in cold blood by unidentified gunmen.

    A female reporter with the African Independent Television (AIT), Owei Patience, iOS still bathing for her life in a Government House Hospital, Yenagoa, after she was robbed and shot at close range by unknown persons.

    The aggrieved residents further decried nefarious activities of cultists, who have formed the habit of trooping to the streets to rob, shoot and kill helpless people.
    Their evil activities led to the killing of a 30-year-old man identified as Ifiemie and shooting of a policeman in mufti in Ekeki area of Yenagoa on Wednesday.

    They also lamented constant attacks on travelers along the waterways by pirates, which recently led to the brutal killing of Asuku, a former Chairman of the Maritime Workers’ Union (MWU), Akassa unit.

    A resident, Ayemi Pat, reeled out some of the incidents of criminality and appealed to security agencies especially the police to arrest the ugly trend.

    He said: “About five weeks, some yet-to-be-identified gunmen in broad daylight shot and almost killed Ebitmi Boss, a.k.a Timiya at the gate of his house at Biogbolo Yenagoa.

    “Only recently armed robbers successfully robbed one miss Owei of AIT, assigned to Government House after shooting her. She would have died but for the timely assistance of some good spirited Nigerians who rushed her to the hospital.

    “No day passes without one incident of robbery or assassination in Yenagoa for the past three or four months. This is not palatable considering the size of Yenagoa, and something urgent must be done to nip this ugly situation in the bud. Yenagoa, the State capital, is becoming too scary to live in”.

    Also a youth leader and activist, Wisdom Ikuli, told security agencies to do their job and stop what he described as worsening security situation in Yenagoa.

    He asked them to return the state to the security it enjoyed during the first term in office of Dickson.

    He said: “The waterways in Bayelsa State especially Southern Ijaw and Brass Local Government Areas have become impassable.

    “They are now ‘No- Go-Areas’. There is hardly a week that passes without incidents of sea piracy and murder of innocent, defenseless poor passengers and local traders.
    “Bayelsa State especially Yenagoa Metropolis is fast becoming a dead zone. The daily cases of assassinations and deaths resulting from armed robbery is alarming and becoming too worrisome”.

    Also, the Head of News, Rhythm FM, Oyins Engrebido, lamented how armed robbers almost killed the Head of Station, Silverbird Rhythm 94.7, Mr. Peter on Thursday.
    He said: “Three Armed robbers with pump action and revolver pistol just robbed the Head of Station Silverbird Rhythm 94.7 Yenagoa Mr. Peter at the NNPC filling station by Redeem church.

    “They robbed him of his valuables at the presence of other road users and threatened to shoot him. What’s happening in Bayelsa?”

    Another resident, Akik Olali, said: “In this Yuletide season, most people are now very afraid of going to the bank for fear of being trailed by these armed rubbers.

    “Everywhere is just dry,I mean no sign of Christmas anywhere, yet these boys won’t allow people to enjoy the little they have. I urge the security agencies to up their game”.

    But the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Asuquo Amba, has within two months paraded hundreds of suspected criminals and assorted rifles recovered from them.

    The police boss blamed rising crimes in the state on the insatiable quest for money during the Yuletide.

    He further said the the recent surge was caused by the proliferation of small arms lamenting that people were in possession of illegal weapons.

    He said: “As a matter of fact, I agreed with you that there is a rise in crime. One it could be as a result of the greed of the Yuletide but we have been planning all through the year, not only in this period.

    ‘I can authoritatively tell you that there are a lot of small weapons with people and the people have wrong perception about cultism.

    ” The state government is trying to come out with a policy where it could address issues relating to cultism, to encourage people to denounce cultism and encourage people to lay down their weapons.

    “Cultisms is becoming a thing of pride for people to get themselves involved and you also know that there is thin line between cultism and armed robbery is very close. Most of these cases are nothing but revenge missions, especially for the younger one.

    “You create a problem somewhere and other people come out to revenge. We have been trying to sensitize the people, we had made a sizeable recovery of arms and by Monday l will showcase the numbers of arms we had recovered from individuals and groups but unfortunately there is a slow pace in prosecution but thank God the governor and the judiciary have seen the need to fast-track their prosecutions.

    “The state government is trying to come out with a policy where it could address issues relating to cultism, to encourage people to denounce cultism and encourage people to lay down their weapons”.
    Sent from my iPad

  • Police beef up security as IYC inaugurates clan heads in Bayelsa

    Police beef up security as IYC inaugurates clan heads in Bayelsa

    The Central Zone of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Friday, inaugurated executive committees for all the clans in the zone, which comprises Bayelsa State and some parts of Rivers State amidst heavy police deployment.

    The police as early as 7am sent about six patrol vans of heavily armed operatives to mount security around the Ijaw House, Yenagoa, where the clan heads and their executive members were sworn-in by the zone’s Chairman, Mr. Tare Porri.

    It was gathered that the police took the proactive measure to forestall possible breakdown of law and order following internal rancour between the central zone of IYC and the Oweilaemi Peretubo-led national leadership of the council.

    Hundreds of Ijaw youths, who trooped to the venue to partake in the inauguration were frisked by security operatives, who were stationed at the gate, before they were allowed access to the venue.

    Scanners and other security devices were deployed to search vehicles for explosives and other weapons.

    But the inauguration which was also monitored by the representative of the IYC National Deputy President, Mr. Esuku Belief, was successful despite initial protest by some clans that they knew nothing about the elections.

    Porri, who spoke after the inauguration, described the development as historic and set up a committee to look into all the complaints of some clans.

    He insisted that there was no rancour between the central zone and the national leadership of IYC adding that by virtue of the council’s constitution, the deputy national president coordinates zonal activities.

    Porri further said the central zone was united and peaceful and asked persons trying to foment trouble within the zone to keep off.

    He said: “We don’t have any issues with the President. We are ready to work together with the national leadership of IYC. I am committed to working together with the IYC worldwide to ensure that we all succeed.

    “We cannot be divided at this time. We know as a people the person who is constitutionally empowered to addressing issues in zones. The person in charge of coordinating zones is the deputy national president and we are working with him.

    “We are also working with the president so I am surprised that people are saying we are not working with him. IYC central zone is united there is no division and there is no crisis and so nobody should cause crisis in the zone.

    “They should go to the western zone to resolve the crisis there. Central zone is peaceful and we are all working together”.

    Porri, who said the IYC was not a Facebook organisation, advised the clans to use the opportunity given to them to render service to the Ijaw nation.

    He appealed to them to with their people and ensures peace in their clans and warned them against use their positions to cause crisis.

    “Don’t be involved in criminality, violence and crisis. Work with the zone to ensure that all out clans are peaceful and successful,” he said.

  • IYC compiles names of politicians behind abandoned NDDC projects 

    IYC compiles names of politicians behind abandoned NDDC projects 

    The Central Zone of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Worldwide, Thursday, lambasted some unnamed leaders and politicians in Bayelsa State for hijacking and abandoning contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Rising from their meeting at Ijaw House, Yenagoa, the state capital, the IYC executive members in the zone lamented that the Abuja-based politicians shared the contracts among themselves and collected the money without executing them.

    As part of their resolutions after the emergency meeting, the IYC leaders said they would soon send a list of the jobs, which were abandoned after huge amount of money, was released by NDDC and the politicians behind them to the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    They commended the current board of the commission especially the Managing Director of NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, for his uprightness in contract awards but flayed persons, who shortchanged Bayelsa.

    Speaking after the meeting, the Chairman of IYC, Central Zone, Mr. Tare Porri, said the council was pained that NDDC contracts meant for youths to curb restiveness in the state were also cornered by the politicians.

    He said: “We carried out independent investigations and it was revealed that water hyacinth job that was hitherto given to the youths, were diverted by our leaders and politicians. They shared the jobs among themselves and never gave a single job to the youths in this zone.

    “We are aware that some bigwigs in the National Assembly took some of the jobs. Our waterways in our respected communities are blocked because of water hyacinth. They took these jobs without executing them.

    “It is unfortunate that our leaders shared the jobs without given any one to our youths I the central zone. IYC central zone frowns at that and we are condemning that act in its entirety knowing that the jobs were awarded to ensure the actualisation of the purpose of the jobs”.

    Porri hinted that the NDDC was making preparations to award a new set of water hyacinth jobs, but lamented that the same political contractors had engaged in the process of hijacking the jobs.

    “This time around, we will resist any attempt by leaders who do not mean well for the wellbeing of the youths. We are calling on the MD, NDDC to please follow the laid down procedure in awarding the jobs to persons affected by the hyacinth.

    “The jobs should be given to the youths because when we get the jobs we will ensure that the jobs are done”, he said.

    Porri further pointed out that Bayelsa’s share of contracts in the 2017 budget of NDDC were cornered by politicians, who refused to do the jobs.

    He said: “We don’t know the persons that had taken these contracts, but they are Bayelsans. We don’t know where these jobs are located and we don’t know the value of these contracts.

    “We, therefore, use this medium to call on the MD and the entire board of the NDDC to please furnish the IYC with the details of these contracts. This time around, we will not allow any leader to deceive us again.

    “We frown at the attitude of our leaders who are interested in getting contracts from NDDC but they are not interested in executing the projects. Bayelsa State, central zone, happens to be the state that has highest number of NDDC abandoned projects.

    “Why is it that our leaders are not interested in developing our state even when jobs are being given to them? If these jobs were given to foreigners, we would have been raising alarms but this time the jobs were given to our people but they didn’t do them. We are calling on the MD, NDDC, whom we know as a transparent man to please help us furnish us with the details of these contracts”.

    The IYC boss cried out that the same set of politicians took over other emergency NDDC jobs designed to create economic activities in the state.

    He said the politicians were creating confusion in the state and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue Bayelsa from the greed of a few politicians in the state.

    Describing persons involved in the rackets as Abuja-based politicians, he said the contracts were shared among their cohorts in Abuja without recourse to the plight of youths in the state.

    Porri said: “We want our leaders that had taken these jobs to do the needful by executing these projects that were awarded to them. Failure to do this, Ijaw youths will do everything possible to ensure that those who took these contracts are brought to questions.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has resolved to fight corruption. So. We are calling on Mr. President to also help the Ijaw people in the central zone. Our jobs were given to politicians in Abuja not minding what we are going through.

    “In 2017 is when the governor of Bayelsa is trying to construct a road to Agge from Sagbama after 57 years of independence. That road was earlier awarded by NDDC. The governor had to take over the road project.

    “We are calling on the NDDC to work with the governor of Bayelsa state to come up with priority projects that would benefit the collective interest of Ijaw people. As IYC, our interest is development”.

    The IYC boss advised the NDDC board to henceforth award contracts directly to people in the grassroots through established youth structures like the IYC central zone.

  • Final year student killed, others injured as students fight in Bayelsa

    Final year student killed, others injured as students fight in Bayelsa

    A final year student of law was at the weekend shot dead with many others injured in Bayelsa State following a bloody clash that broke out in an election organised by the National Association of Nigerian Students ( NANS ).

    It was gathered that the election, which was held in Otuoke, the hometown of former President Goodluck Jonathan, snowballed into a cult war as students fight with assorted rifles, machetes and other weapons.

    Details soon…

  • Ijaw needs unity for survival, says Jonathan

    Ijaw needs unity for survival, says Jonathan

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said his Ijaw people must embrace unity to survive their challenges instead of destroying themselves.

    Jonathan spoke at the weekend in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while paying tributes to the late Ijaw leader and former member of Board of Trustees of the People’s Democratic Party, Chief Gordon Bozimo.

    Bozimo, a former Chairman of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Board, died on June 5, 2017 at a hospital in Arkansas, United States of America at the age of 67.

    He said Ijaw people were not many and could not afford to be pulling themselves down.

    Jonathan said: ”We must stop destroying ourselves as a people. We are not too many. Things are quite challenging.

    ”Sometimes, you need to wear the shoes to know where they pinch. I believe that working together, helping ourselves collectively, we will be able to solve some of our problems.”

    He asked them to emulate Bozimo, who as a politician never engaged in assassination of people’s character.

    He said though Bozimo might disagree with people politically, he usually moved by his conviction.

    He said the Ijaw nation lost somebody quite unique, quite patriotic, quite committed to the development of the people.

    Jonathan added: ”At the political level, Bozimo was like a political giant among a few elders that were in the People’s Democratic Party in terms of his national connections and he was committed to the party.

    ”In fact, he played a key role in ensuring that I became a running mate to Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and also the victory of Alamieyeseigha in 1999 elections.

    ”Since then, I have been close to Bozimo, even though turbulent periods. The state has always passed through a fever. In fact, politics is about interest.”

    Also speaking, Governor Seriake Dickson said that Bozimo was a true Ijaw son who gave his best to the service of the nation.

    He called on the people of Bayelsa to identify with a new Bayelsa which harped on honour and respect for one another.

    He said: ”All I want to say is that everyone of us should key into this new Bayelsa where we honour and respect one another, work together and stop running down one another.

    ”Today is not a day of long political speeches; today is not a day for politics no matter the temptation. Today is a day to celebrate unity; it is a day to honour one of our departed leaders and fathers and to remind us how much we all stand to gain working together, respecting one another, honouring one another.

    ”In the past six years, unknown to a few people, you have a new Bayelsa founded on solidarity, not a Bayelsa where you stayed away and begin to promote needless discord and issues for no reason, or for some selfish reasons.

    “You have a new Bayelsa here where we do our bits and support and encourage ourselves the little way we can.

    ”I found Bozimo a most congenial gentleman, a very intelligent man but a man with keen sense of political strategies, the likes of him, will take time to get.”

  • Tension as military raids Bayelsa community for arms, criminals 

    Tension as military raids Bayelsa community for arms, criminals 

    There was tension in Peremabiri community, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, following a raid conducted by the military to mop up arms and flush out suspected criminals in the area.

    It was gathered that the military acted on intelligence that pirates and militants were hiding in the community and using some houses to stockpile arms and ammunition.

    Some women from the community were said to have earlier staged a protest to stop what they perceived as an invasion but later withdrew and allowed the soldiers to carry out their operation

    An elderly resident said a team of soldiers stormed his house saying they were  looking for guns.

    “They surrendered me and asked me to show them where guns were hidden in my house. I told them I had no guns. But they ransacked my house and later left for other places”, the source, who spoke in confidence said.

    It was not, however, clear the number of arms and ammunition recovered from the exercise as well as the number of the people arrested by the soldiers.

    But the people of Peremabiri said the effort by the military to flush out criminals and clear arms from their community was a welcome development.

    They commended the Federal Government for coming to free them from the hands of a suspected notorious criminal gang terrorizing their community.

    They said the action of the military had enabled them to breathe the air of freedom again claiming that the gang held them captive for so long.

    The indigenes under the aegis of Peremabiri Development Association (PDA), in a communique issued after their emergency meeting in Yenagoa, said the gang was led by an ex-militant.

    They complained that the ex-militant was trying to impose an unpopular leadership on them.

    The indigenes in the communique reportedly signed by the Chairman of PDA, ‎Chief Awolowo Wasiri; Secretary, Chief Profit Enoch and Publicity Secretary, Alfred Ikiomoye Olotu thanked the government for earlier arresting some of the suspects ‎and arraigning them before a competent court.

    They called on the security agencies to apprehend the criminal elements fleeing the community to permanently resolve the constant unrest in the area.

    They explained that the women, who staged a protest because of the intervention by the military acted out of fear.

    The statement reportedly said: “We are in support of the routine operation which took place in our community. Our joy is full because we have been living in bondage for so long. This has affected our lives as we live in fear everyday..

    “The intervention has brought some relaxation in our community as we now move freely. We are excited because if not for the action of the military, they would have imposed an unpopular man as our paramount ruler.

    “We have confidence in the federal government and so we appeal to them to go after the rest members of the gang to ensure that they never return to our community. Those women who protested did so because they were forced and not out of any loyalty”.

     

  • Agip tackles restiveness in Niger Delta with Green River Project

    Agip tackles restiveness in Niger Delta with Green River Project

    The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has acquired a farm in Bayelsa State to train youths, women and local farmers in the Niger Delta on agriculture as part of its efforts to stop restiveness in the region.

    The oil giant also provided over 5000 poultry birds, 17,000 plantain suckers 100 banana suckers, 2,500 bundles of cassava stems, over 500 pineapple suckers and 350kg maize seeds to farmers in the region within the year.

    The Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, NAOC, Massimo Insulla, said at the weekend that the agricultural initiatives were all part of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company’s Green River Project.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, at the company’s 21st Farmers’ Day celebration, Insulla said over 2,000 yam seeds and 850,000 fingerlings were also distributed to farmers.

    He said the multinational in partnership with its joint ventures trained about 300 youths in agro-skills acquisition programme adding that NAOC inaugurated a 10-hectare plant propagation centre in Kwale, Delta State.

    “To further strengthen and sustain the future of Niger Delta, Eni companies in Nigeria have embarked on training of over 1000 vendors in capacity Development initiatives through our various programmes.

    “We have commitment to the Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) to provide one year specialist subsea engineering training for 10 NCDMB nominated engineers.

    “We have subsisting Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with Standard IBTC, Zenith Bank, and UBA for provision of credit facilities to our vendors at favorable rates”, he said.

    He said the annual Farmers’ Day is a project of the company and its joint venture partners designed to celebrate the achievements of farmers over the last planting season.

    Insulla, who said the celebration was being hosted for a second time in Bayelsa added that in the past 30 years, the project remained a prime source of employment and improvement of standard of living for various communities.

    He said the project served as a tool for sustainable development and food sufficiency, insisting that the annual project offered the platform to individual farmers and various cooperative societies to come together to showcase their products, produces and services.

    He said that the theme of this year’s celebration, ‘GRP: Actively leading the future of the Niger Delta’, was chosen to highlight the contributions and preparedness of Agip JV scheme to support the development of the communities.

    He said such development would come from boosting the capacity of the communities through training, extension services, technological support and knowledge transfer.

    In his welcome remarks, the General Manager, District, Marco Rotondi, said the GRP which started in 1986 has been visionary and pioneering.

    He said that in the next 30years, Nigeria would be the third largest country by population after China and India and there was the need to rethink how the country treats and distributes her resources.

    Rotondo said: ”Access to food will be extremely crucial. In addition, Nigeria has the impelling need to diversify its economy, which is solely relying on oil and gas.

    ”It is easy to understand focus and drive to make farming very attractive and accessible and to encourage the youth and especially the women to embrace a modern and mechanised agriculture.”

    The host Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson insisted that the only route to achieve prosperity in the country was self-reliance on agriculture instead of total dependence on oil and gas.

    Dickson, who was represented by his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd.), urged the people to embrace the emergence of agricultural revolution to achieve sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

    He said: ”I was very impressed with what I saw here because it is in line with what Bayelsa State, particularly in this time of oil infiltration that is taking place right from onset that Bayelsa must think beyond oil.

    ”With this, I state that there is no other way to go in this country today. The only route to go to prosperity, self-reliance is farming.

    ”These actions by Agip, not only to get our farmers empowered but also trained is very commendable and I urge you to continue with it. A good head with a good heart is what we need to move forward.

    ”Thankfully, Agip has a good head and heart and thus they gave to us. They have assisted in training and also empowering our young and old men and women who were once focused on oil as the only source of living and I am certain that they are benefitting from it today.

    ”I implore you all to embrace the emergence of agricultural revolution. We have the farms for it and the mechanized aspect has been inculcated in them.”

  • Unemployed graduates back prosecution of payroll fraudsters in Bayelsa

    Unemployed graduates back prosecution of payroll fraudsters in Bayelsa

    Thousands of unemployed graduates in Bayelsa State converged on Yenagoa, the state capital, Friday, and threw their weight behind the decision of Governor Seriake Dickson to prosecute about 6000 workers indicted for payroll fraud in the state.

    The jobless graduates, who came together under the aegis of the Bayelsa State Graduate Forum (BSGF), insisted that sanitizing the civil service system was to their advantage.

    The group led by Eddy Soko, said the efforts of the government would remove fraudsters, who had denied fresh graduates employment opportunities in the state.

    Soko said that all the jobless graduates decided to rally round the government because the state had suffered unduly from perpetrator of payroll fraud and other misdemeanor in the civil service‎.

    He said: “How can people who are working in some federal institutions receiving salaries there and also drawing salaries every month from the State Civil Service. Or how do we continue to keep quiet when people who have officially attained the retirement age but have refused to leave, rather they swear in affidavit and change their date of births.

    “This is clearly unfair to us as unemployed graduates and to the state in general .So also it has become imperative for us to lend our support to the government‎, because if the civil service is sanitized, there will be space for the teeming unemployed Bayelsa youths, particularly graduates like us to get employed.

    “We are pained that some persons are kicking against the noble move by the government especially the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).Let us inform them that we will resist any attempt by them to shut down the state through needless protests. They should be ready to face us because we are talking about our future here.”

    The concerned undergraduates also declared that the records available to them showed that over N2billion had been saved by the government in the ongoing reforms.

    Soko said: “Therefore we are today declaring anyone or group who stands against the sincere intention of the State Government as an enemy‎ of the state and we shall treat such persons. We will name and shame them. We will go through all legitimate means to fish out those people.

    “We are saying NO to payroll fraud. NO to Ghost Workers, No to Birth Certificate Forgery. No to keeping of jobs for unborn children, concubines and certificate fraud just to remain in the civil service, thereby hindering qualified graduate in the state not to be employed”.

  • Ecstasy in Bayelsa as cultural troupe wins NAFEST trophy

    Ecstasy in Bayelsa as cultural troupe wins NAFEST trophy

    Bayelsa State  is fast becoming the traditional winner of the overall best in the National Festival for Arts and Culture. Last year, the state won the long golden gong.

    At this year’s edition, the state’s troupe shone again as it shrugged off other contesting states to clinch the trophy again. All the way from Kaduna State, which hosted this year’s edition of NAFEST whose theme was ”Nigerian Peace and Unity, Our Pride”, the state smiled home with victory.

    Kaduna and Lagos states came second and third respectively while Delta and Ogun states were joint winners of the fourth position. The week-long programme was a showcase for the country’s diverse cultural heritage.

    Undoubtedly, Bayelsa is endowed with rich cultural heritage. But credit goes to the state’s Council for Arts and Culture which knows how to interpret the state’s culture and create irresistible public appeal about it.

    The Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, is also a happy man. In his tenure, the state has won the competition back-to-back. The latest feat makes it the third time during Dickson’s administration that the Bayelsa Troupe would emerge first at the NAFEST.

    The government described the feat as a true reflection of the “positive things Bayelsa is experiencing under the purposeful leadership of Governor Seriake Dickson”.

    The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, was the first to announce the state’s victory at the competition. He congratulated the contingent on its ability to maintain the prime position.

    He assured them of the continuous support of government to enable them to win more national and international laurels, even as he encouraged them to always aim high.

    He said: “2017 has been a successful year for the state as recently the state Cultural Troupe that represented Nigeria and Africa at the K-POP World Festival in South Korea came tops while 22-year-old Daniel Diongoli popularly known as Idyl emerged winner of this year’s edition of The Voice Nigeria.

    “We are grateful to God for the success stories we are recording. It underscores the kind of leadership that His Excellency, Henry Seriake Dickson is offering the state. As a government, we are proud of our cultural troupes and we will do all that we can to continue to support them”.

    But Dickson later received them formally at the Government House, Yenagoa.

    The governor gave kudos to the State Cultural Troupe of the State Council for Arts and Culture for emerging overall winner of this year’s edition of the competition.

    The governor said the government and people of the state were proud of their achievements, saying Bayelsa had continued to make steady progress in all spheres of human endeavour.

    Dickson said the feat they achieved demonstrated to the whole country that Bayelsa was a state to reckon with in a number of areas, including education, health care delivery, infrastructural development as well as culture and tourism. He assured them of government’s continued support to enable the council to win more laurels for the state.

    He said: “That is the spirit of the new Bayelsa; the spirit of excellence and the spirit of being number one in everything we are doing.

    “We are number one in security, education, health care, infrastructural investment and in culture and tourism. Clearly you are undoubted Champions of Culture. On behalf of the government and people of this state, I will like to congratulate you on your victory. You have made a statement that all states in this country will not forget in a hurry.

    “You have said that what happened last year was not a mistake and that you deserved this trophy last year and you have confirmed that you are number one cultural troupe in the country. This is because you people have done this to show to the rest of the country and the world, that when it comes to the area of culture and tourism, Bayelsa is number one.”

    He said as part of efforts to promote culture and tourism, the government would organise a mock cultural carnival by next year. In appreciation of their remarkable performance in bringing back the Cultural Gong, the governor promised that the government would formally host the state troupe at a later date.

    Presenting the gong to Dickson, Director of the State Council for Arts and Culture, Mrs. Payeboye Festus-Lukoh expressed gratitude to the governor for the support and encouragement given to the council to participate in this year’s NAFEST.

    Ascribing the council’s victory to God, Mrs. Festus-Lukoh also thanked the state government for the timely approval of funds. She assured that the council would do its best to bring the cultural gong back home next year.

  • Police nab man for allegedly hacking wife to death

    Police nab man for allegedly hacking wife to death

    Police in Bayelsa have arrested a 24- year-old man, Edwin Vincent, for allegedly hacking his 21-year old wife, Joy Micheal, to death with a machete.

    The incident occurred at Kaima in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Asinim Butswat, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Yenagoa.

    Butswat said the suspect, who hailed from Uwheru in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta , was already talking to detectives to unravel the motive behind his dastardly act.

    According to him, the deceased was on a fishing expedition on Sunday with a neighbour when her husband allegedly brutally attacked and killed her.

    “On Nov. 5, 2017, at about 0830 hrs, one Edwin Vincent, 24, a native of Uwheru in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta, but residing at Boro Camp, Kaima in Bayelsa, attacked and killed his wife, one Joy Michael, 21.

    “The deceased, Joy Micheal, went fishing in a nearby bush with her neighbour, one Juliet Philip, when the husband attacked and killed her with a matchet.

    “The suspect has been arrested and he has confessed to the crime. Investigation is ongoing to ascertain the motive behind the murder,” the police spokesman said.