The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayelsa State

  • Bayelsa standstill as Alamieyeseigha begins final journey

    Bayelsa standstill as Alamieyeseigha begins final journey

    Shops, social activities and all forms of businesses were, Friday, shut down in different parts of Bayelsa State as the heroic state burial for the late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, entered day two.

    Commercial institutions, government agencies and parastatals were shut especially   in Yenagoa, as the state stood still in honour of the Ijaw hero, who was referred to as the Governor-General of the Niger Delta.

    At about 12noon, an ambulance carrying a shiny white casket bearing the remains of the late Ijaw icon touched the soil of Bayelsa.

    The ambulance was accompanied by convoy of vehicles of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, led by its President, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, who added colour to the solemn ceremony.

    The youths led by Eradiri followed the ambulance from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Rivers State, to Yenagoa.

    The youths who bore banners and emblems of Ijaw struggle sang and danced as the white casket draped in Ijaw flag and decorated with bouquets of flowers arrived the Executive Chambers of the Banquet Hall, Yenagoa.

    It was taken to a podium at the center of the hall where Governor Seriake Dickson held a valedictory session in the honour of the late Ijaw icon.

    Though there was no lying in state for the late hero, his remains were expected to be taken to his expansive compound in his community in Amassoma where a wake had been arranged before his final burial on Saturday.

    In Amasoma, business and commercial activities were also completely shut down. Even commercial motorcyclists and buses have been out of the road since Thursday.

    The town was agog as residents and students of the Niger Delta University (NDU), Alamieyeseigha’s major achievements prepared to receive the remains of their hero.

    The quiet town became boisterous with gridlock of vehicles in some roads in the community.

    On Thursday night avalanche of tributes was poured on late Ijaw leader by other Ijaw living heroes including former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Jonathan, who narrated how the late Alamieyeseigha brought him to political limelight, said the late hero believed in the oneness of the Ijaw nation.

    Referring to him as his boss, Jonathan said the man famously called Alamco left the stage when the ovation was the loudest.

    The president said the late former governor would be missed by not only the Ijaw nation but the entire Niger Delta.

    Also the leaders of various levels of IYC led by Eradiri gathered at Ijaw House to reflect on the ideals and virtues of the late Ijaw hero and seized the opportunity to take a collective position on national issues affecting the Ijaw nation.

    Eradiri said that the council would henceforth organise public lecture every year to immortalise Alamieyeseigha.

    He said the public lecture would centre on true federalism and resource control which were some of the ideologies Alamieyeseigha promoted.

    Eradiri said: “We will be holding annual public lecture on true federalism and fiscal federal as a mark of honour to immortalising Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    “Every year, on the date he died, we will organise annual public lecture to look at issues concerning resource control and true federalism.”

    Eradiri who was flanked by the IYC, Spokesman, Eric Omare, and other executive members of the council noted that the late governor-general was a victim of political prosecution and victimisation.

  • NDLEA arrests 24 drug traffickers in Bayelsa

    NDLEA arrests 24 drug traffickers in Bayelsa

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Bayelsa State Command, Friday said it arrested 24 suspected drug traffickers in the state.

    The agency said out of the number, 20 suspects were males while four were females.

    The NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Ikenna Osakwe, in a statement on Friday said that the suspects were arrested in March, within the Yenagoa metropolis and on the East-West Road area of Bayelsa.

    Osakwe, a Superintendent of Narcotics and Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs, said during the period, 8.706kg of illicit drugs were seized.

    He said: “It is worthy of note that of the above quantities, Cannabis Sativa and psychotropic substances accounted for a substantial part of the recovered illicit drugs.

    “It is becoming worrisome that adolescents and youths are adopting novel means of substance abuse in our communities which has led to the rise in illegal sale and consumption of psychotropic substances in the state.”

    He called on parents and guardians to increase their vigilance and monitor their children and wards closely at home and in the school.

    He said: “This is to ensure timely intervention where substance abuse is noticed. They are also encouraged to avail themselves of information on latest trends in substance abuse to ensure possible identification where and when it occurs.

    “Irrespective of the fact that criminality is not the exclusive reserve of any sex, it is becoming increasingly regrettable that women who should be home and by extension, nation builders, are becoming more involved in illicit drug dealing. This raises even more concern when the women in question are mothers or expectant mothers.”

    He further called on the State Ministry of Women Affairs and other female rights advocacy groups and organisations to partner with the command to enlighten and sensitize female folks on the dangers of illicit drugs.

    He appealed to the general public to desist from accepting parcels, consignments or luggage from friends and relatives for onward conveyance without consciously and painstakingly evaluating their contents.

    He said investigation revealed that individuals unknowingly become drug couriers for friends and relatives.

    But he said that ignorance of the law was not an excuse and such actions could not only be perceived as carelessness, but even criminal negligence.

    “All well-meaning residents of Bayelsa State are also encouraged to maintain vigilance in their communities and report illegal drug activities to the Command for prompt action,” he said.

  • Jonathan’s foster father released

    Chief Inengite Nitabai, the kidnapped septuagenarian uncle and foster father to former President Goodluck Jonathan has been released by his abductors.

    Details of his release were still sketchy at the time of filing this report.

    Nitabai, the former university lecturer, who was kidnapped on February 17, was said to have regained his freedom on Tuesday evening.

    A security source, Nitabai, a community leader in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, was freed and had re-united with his family.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Asinim Butswat confirmed the development but said he had no details.

     

  • Militants sack police station in Bayelsa

    Militants sack police station in Bayelsa

    . Cart away ATM, cash in bank attack

    Like a scene in an action thriller, gunmen suspected to be militants launched attacks on a police station and a branch of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in Amasoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    Amasoma is the community of the late former governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and a host to the state-owned university, the Niger Delta University (NDU).

    It was gathered that the gang of militants stormed the community through the waterways at about 1am on Friday.

    Shortly after arriving on a speedboat, they were said to have moved straight to the police station located in the area and engaged the policemen in a gun duel.

    The bandits who reportedly overpowered the policemen, carted away arms and ammunition from the police station.

    The rampaging armed robbers later visited the UBA branch with rage shooting sporadically and creating panic among residents.

    It was gathered that the militants threw dynamites and other explosives at the bank to create access to the banking hall.

    After blowing off the fence of the bank, the hoodlums were said to have tried in vain to enter the bank.

    A source who spoke in confidence said: “A group of armed militants with heavy guns stormed amassoma community. They militants came in through the waterways but the police were unable to stop them.

    “The militants group found their way to the United Bank of Africa (UBA) where they shoot sporadically chasing away everyone including the security guards.

    “They threw bombs and dynamites at the walls of the bank, bringing down its fences. They gained access to the bank premises but were unable to get in after much attempt”.

    It was gathered that the militants later attacked the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), dismantled and carted it away.

    Though no life had been confirmed lost in the incident, some persons were said to have been injured.

    “The source added: “This is not the first time such robbery is taking place in a bank at amassoma. It could be recalled sometime ago that suspected militants group raided the bank carting away millions of naira and leaving behind dead victims.”

    A senior bank official who spoke in confidence confirmed the attack and said the ATM was carted away by the hoodlums.

    He, however, said the UBA management had sent a team to take inventory of the damaged property and determine the amount of money lost to the incident.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Butswat Asinim, said he was waiting for the details of the attack.

  • Niger Delta varsity shut down over students’ protest

    The Vice-Chancellor, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Prof. Humphrey Ogoni, Tuesday, shut down the institution following violent protest by students.

    The students barricaded the university to protest an academic regulation that stopped many final year students in the Faculty of Engineering from graduating.

    The regulation said to be in line with the minimum standard set by the National University Commission (NUC) required students in the faculty to pass the compulsory courses of Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics.

    The students were said to have embarked on the protest in solidarity with 20 of their colleagues affected by the regulation. Patrol vans of the police were drafted to the school to stop the students from destroying the school assets.

    It was gathered that some miscreants hijacked the protest and forced the university authority to shut down the campus to forestall law and order.

    Ogoni who spoke to our correspondent said he asked the students to embark on mid-semester break when he discovered that some hoodlums hijacked the protest.

    He also asked persons in hostels to vacate the campus till further notice. But he said the school authority issued a directive to review the regulation to ensure uniform implementation.

    Ogoni further added that the the university reached an agreement with the affected students to resolve the matter and enable them graduate.

    He said: “The management has reached an understanding with the affected students to enable them to graduate. The current protest was hijacked by other students who had been advised to withdraw because of their failure to measure up.

    “The university authority will review the new regulation and the students will now be informed of the resumption date at the appropriate time.”

     

  • Dickson dissolves cabinet, reappoints CPS

    Dickson dissolves cabinet, reappoints CPS

    The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has dissolved his cabinet following the end of his first tenure.

    The governor, however, immediately retained Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, as his Chief Press Secretary (CPS).

    Dickson in a statement signed by Iworiso-Markson said the dissolution of his cabinet was part of activities marking his transition to a second term in office.

    The statement said: “The Governor wishes to thank all political appointees, who served in the first tenure for their commitment and dedicated services to the Government and people of the state.

    “According to a Government House statement, Governor Dickson wishes them well in all their future endeavours.

    “It, however, points out that, those whose services may be needed will be reappointed to serve the state in the future.”

  • Unpaid workers shut down Bayelsa LG secretariats

    Unpaid workers shut down Bayelsa LG secretariats

    Some local government secretariats in Bayelsa State were Monday shut down by aggrieved workers who protested many months of unpaid salaries.

    The angry workers said they were dying of hunger because their local government chairmen owed them salaries between five to nine months.

    Workers in Sagbama and Nembe, the local government areas of Governor Seriake Dickson and his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd), including those in Yenagoa were the worst hit.

    The workers under the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) barricaded the council secretariats and said the facilities would remain under lock and key until their salaries and allowances were paid.

    The remaining five councils of Ogbia, Brass, Kolokuma-Opokuma,  Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw  also owed their workers different arrears of salaries

    In Yenagoa, placard-bearing workers stormed the council’s secretariat at about 6am,  chanting songs to draw public attention to their plight.

    The workers held placards with messages such as “The chairman has not told us the problem; the political appointees have been paid up to date”, “We are owed for four months”, “NYSC workers have not got their allowances”, “Our chairman is a sadist”, “Internally generated revenues are in private account,  not in council treasury”, “Council workers are not slaves, they should be treated as human beings”.

    Speaking on the plight of workers, the Chairman, NULGE, Yenagoa LGA chapter, Mr. Oyoro Kwaka,  said the council has been owing them since October 2015.

    He asked the council chairman to disclose what how he spent the council’s allocation for November and December.

    He alleged that the alerts of revenue arising from the IGR of the council were usually received in private bank account instead of the council’s account.

    Oyoro said: “They are owing us October, November, December and January. Our children are at home; they have been sent back home from school because we cannot pay their school fees.

    “We did not have money for Christmas, for the first time in this local government, we could not afford to buy a grain of rice for Christmas, yet the politicians bought rice, cows, goats, wrappers and so many other things for themselves. Even now, the politicians have been paid up to date but they refuse to pay us our own salaries for four months.

    “Allocations have been coming. In our council, the revenue goes to the chairman’s personal account. The revenue unit has not alert, the chairman gets the alert if any money is paid to the council account. It is not done in any organization, this is a local govermment, the money collected from revenue should go to the local government account.

    “If he refuses to pay us we will not vacate this place, we have the backing of the security agencies and we have announced on the state radio that we are embarking on this protest.”

    But the Head of Local Government Administration, Yenagoa, Dr. Ovienadu Torutein, admitted that the council owed some categories of workers for three months and others for two months.

    He said: “Yes, we are owing some for three months and some for two months. The reason is that the allocation we receive from the Federal Government is not enough and it affects not only this local government but others.

    “We are even trying to meet up with payment of salaries more than other local government areas.

    “We have a salary wage bill of about N97million or thereabouts and if we add that of the politicians, it is about N108m and we receive less than that. On the average, we are receiving between N70m and N80 million after the statutory deductions.”

    He appealed to the workers to exercise patience, insisting that the council was working hard to ensure that their salaries were paid.

    But a NULGE official, who did not want his name in print, said the genesis of the indebtedness to workers began during the general elections.

    He said huge sums of money were deducted from workers’ salaries during the election that sacked former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said even during the governorship election, about N50m was deducted from the accounts of some council.

  • Bayelsa, Police disagree on allegation of baby selling

    Bayelsa, Police disagree on allegation of baby selling

    The Ministry of Health, Bayelsa State, and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Saturday, said it was not true that a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Sawyer Wisdom, sold a baby girl delivered in the Survival Hospital located at Igbogene, Yenagoa, at N200,000.

    The ministry and FIDA said contrary to the claims of the police that the baby was nowhere to be found, the newborn was being catered for at the Gloryland Children Home, a motherless babies’ facility owned by the state government.

    The police earlier said they arrested a doctor and a nurse at Survival Hospital, over an alleged plot to sell a newborn baby to a willing buyer at N200,000.

    Speaking in a press conference in Yenagoa, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ayibatonye Owei, said it became important for all the stakeholders in the baby-selling saga to clarify the issues to avoid dragging the ministry in the mud.

    Owei said there was no arrangement ab initio between the mother of the baby, Nwachukwu Nnenna and Sawyer, who is the owner of the hospital, to sell the baby.

    He explained that Nwachukwu came to the hospital demanding to terminate her seven-month-old pregnancy citing financial constraints.

    He said Sawyer discouraged her from carrying out the abortion, but opted to cater for and manage her condition until March 2 when she was delivered of a life baby girl.

    Owei explained that upon delivery, the mother and her baby were fed by the hospital and was later handed over to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development because Nwachukwu said she could not take care of her.

    He said all the documentation for the transfer of the baby was properly done with the consent of the woman and that the newborn was later sent by the ministry to the government-owned motherless babies’ home.

    He said the police and other stakeholders went to the child care home to see the baby adding that the reports in the public domain about the matter were not correct.

    “It is disheartening that the police created an impression that the baby was missing. It is also wrong to say that a doctor, who is a permanent secretary in our ministry connived to sell the baby.

    “The baby is not missing. The baby is in the motherless baby home and there was no attempt whatsoever from the beginning to sell her,” he said.

    Also absolving himself of wrongdoing, Sawyer, said before he contacted the ministry to take the baby, the woman signed an undertaking to that effect.

    “The patient signed an undertaking to transfer the baby to the government since she could not care for the baby,” he said.

    Speaking on the matter, the Chairman of FIDA, Dise Ogbise-Erhisere and the Permanent Secretary, Women Affairs, Mrs. Ebiere Igodoh-Adeh corroborated the position of the ministry and Sawyer.

    They said the baby was not sold but was being properly cared for by the government at the motherless babies’ home.

    FIDA boss thanked the ministries of health and women affairs for opting to care for the helpless child.

  • Anger as Dickson’s sister suffers in kidnappers’ den 45 days after

    Anger as Dickson’s sister suffers in kidnappers’ den 45 days after

    There was anger in Bayelsa State, Saturday, as Nancy Keme Dickson, the abducted younger sister to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, remained in kidnappers’ den for about 45 days.

    Most residents who spoke to our correspondent said it was unbelievable that a governor’s sister could spend such number of days in captivity.

    While some of them said it was inexcusable for the governor to allow his sister to languish in the company of notorious criminals, others urged the abductors to set the lady free on compassionate grounds.

    Nancy, 26, said to be the last child of the Dickson’s family, was abducted on December 19, 2015 by unidentified gunmen.

    The student of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), was kidnapped at her shop located in Okaka Road, Yenagoa, the state capital.

    The gunmen who reportedly drove in an ash Lexus Jeep, trailed her to her shop and whisked her away to an unknown place at about 2:50pm.

    Her shop is located in a building housing the office of the Bayelsa Volunteers, an army of youths working for the state government to assist security agencies in bursting crime.

    Nancy was abducted after the December 5, 2015 governorship election and a few weeks to the January 9 supplementary poll, which Dickson won and became reelected for a second term.

    Her travails appeared to have been forgotten until The Nation recently published a report reawakening public consciousness on the matter.

    A top security source who spoke in confidence said security agencies in the state totally forgot the matter until they read the report.

    He said the governor mentioned it during the state Security Council Meeting that was held on Monday.

    “The report reawakened the consciousness of security commanders on the matter. At the last security council meeting, the governor mentioned the case of his sister.

    “But he said he would not pay ransom to the kidnappers. He, however, did not give the security commander a marching order to secure the freedom of his sister,” he said.

    It was, however, learnt that a first attempt through a negotiating team to set Nancy free was tragic as the kidnappers reportedly collected money from a member of the team, set his car ablaze and threatened to kill him.

    The kidnappers were said to have held the negotiator hostage for about a week before releasing him.

    A resident of Yenagoa who identified himself simply as Peter urged the governor to handle his sister’s case as an emergency.

    “We know that the governor has always spoken against paying ransom, but when a matter gets to this level, the governor can play along, retrieve his sister first and then go after the kidnappers as the Chief Security Officer of the state.

    “The health of Nancy should be paramount now because she must have been subjected to inhuman treatments because she is a young and attractive lady,” he said.

    An aide to the governor on Social Media, Mr. John Idumange, appealed to the kidnappers to release Nancy unconditionally.

    Idumange said: “Miss Nancy Dickson was kidnapped about seven weeks ago. We have made inexorable efforts to appeal to her kidnappers to release the girl unconditionally. As a student, this has already destroyed her academic career.

    “Once more, we wish to express our deep concern about this kidnap saga. This is one kidnap too many. We do not know those who have done this evil deed, but God is watching. We passionately appeal to the kidnappers to release her unconditionally.

    “She must have been traumatized to the point of overkill and enough of this inhumanity to her persons.”

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Butswat Asinim, said the police were doing their best to free the lady.

  • Dickson urges Southern Ijaw youths to mobilise support for PDP

    Dickson urges Southern Ijaw youths to mobilise support for PDP

    The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, at the weekend appealed to The youths of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area to mobilise support for him and The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in January 9 rerun election in The Area.

    A statement signed by Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the governor spoke when he hosted an enlarged meeting of community leaders from the area in Government House, Yenagoa.

    Dickson urged them to mobilise their people and vote massively for the PDP, claiming the Party had already won the election, despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaring it inconclusive.

    The governor expressed gratitude to the youths for their show of solidarity and noted the his victory was not complete until the southern Ijaw election was won by the PDP.

    He said the PDP represented the overall interest of the Ijaw people.

    He said: “The APC is afraid of defeat that is why they decided to mar the poll with violence, in spite of that, be peaceful and conduct yourselves properly during the forthcoming poll, as all your leaders are behind the party.

    “In a stakeholders meeting in Abuja, all the agencies of the government, including the security, INEC and others have agreed to conduct a peaceful election, without bias from any interested party, as the result will be determined by the use of PVC.”

    In his remarks, Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Konbowei Benson, expressed appreciation to Governor Dickson for his decision to address the youths of the area, ahead of the re-scheduled poll.

    He assured that, Southern Ijaw was committed to delivering its votes for the PDP, and called on the youths not to be deceived by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Also speaking, an ex-militant leaders, Joshua Macaiva, described Dickson as a visionary leader, saying he had A mark in the art of governance in his first term.

    The co-ordinator of the Bayelsa Volunteer Scheme, Mr. Felix Bonny Ayah, lauded Governor Dickson for fulfilling his promise of incorporating all youth presidents into the scheme.