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Tag: Bayelsa State

  • ‘Sylva should declare his intention now’

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Mr. Festus Daumebi, has called on former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, to declare his aspiration to contest the November 16 governorship election.

    Daumebi, a senatorial candidate for Bayelsa Central in the February 23 election, spoke Yenagoa yesterday. According to him, the people were yearning for Sylva to rescue them from poverty and underdevelopment.

    He said: “Chief Timipre Sylva is the only man with the requisite political structure to win elections for the party and salvage the state from the shackles of misgovernance.

    “Sylva was forcefully removed from office in 2012; he was a victim of political circumstances. But I am sure those who orchestrated his removal to bring the current government are even more disappointed than Sylva himself.

    “So, the only way to re-write our past wrongs is to support him to complete his remaining four years. Under his leadership, we experienced near 24-hour power supply in Bayelsa. Residents were able to close their eyes and sleep.”

    Read Also: Sylva mocks Dickson’s airport in Bayelsa

    Daumebi noted that there was no crisis in the Bayelsa APC, and called on members to support Sylva’s emergence as the APC flag bearer for the November 16 election. He also acknowledged the constitutional rights of other members to contest the election, but appealed to them to shelve their ambitions and work for Sylva’s victory in the interest of party unity and cohesion.

    He warned that any attempt to ignore Sylva in the election would spell doom for the APC.

    “In APC, even if any other person in Bayelsa is going to win an election, that candidate, inclusive of myself, needs the support of Chief Sylva. You can’t win an election in Bayelsa without the support of Sylva.

    “Anyone coming to govern Bayelsa should not centre his attention on his party alone because you are not coming to govern a party. Bayelsans in the last seven and half years have experienced misrule. Our economy as a state is completely crumbled. Nothing is happening in the state. The truth is that our leader, Timipre Sylva, is the only man that can win an election. Our national party should be mindful how they go about this election. Any other person with this party’s ticket without Sylva or his support is an exercise in futility,” he added.

  • Protest as Dickson unveils preferred governorship aspirants 

    BAYELSA State Governor Seriake Dickson drew the ire of residents and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following a statement containing names of his preferred aspirants for his party’s primary election ahead of the November governorship poll.

    Dickson’s political family, the Restoration Caucus of the PDP, in a statement by the governor’s Special Adviser, Feynman Wilson, named only three persons as members of the caucus that had indicated interest to pick the governorship forms.

    They are the Chief of Staff, Government House, Talford Ongolo, Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Kemela Okara and the Senator representing the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Senator Douye Diri.

    But no sooner had the government released the names that residents took to their social media platforms to criticise and reject the governor’s choice.

    The residents, especially members of the PDP, described the three aspirants as unpopular and stingy, saying the party should be prepared to lose the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC) if it settled for any of them.

    Most of the commentators, who said they would not allow any stingy person fly the PDP flag, added that it was inconceivable for the governor to contemplate any of the three names as his successor.

    They urged the governor to drop the idea or they would be forced to vote for the APC.

    One of them, Onitsha Miepanmo, wrote: “Dickson is a good man and has a golden heart for the Ijaw People. He cannot afford to see Bayeslans suffer after his successful two terms in office. But I was shocked to see an official statement regarding the coming governorship election.

    Read Also: Dickson employs 335 professionals

    “The announcement of three aspirants as preferred candidate among so many vibrant aspirants inside the PDP that will continue the good works started by the Restoration Administration is uncalled for. I believe Dickson doesn’t have hand in these so-called stingy preferred candidates.”

    Ibifaa Princewill said the governor would play into the hands of the opposition if he decided to work for any of the three aspirants to become the PDP candidate. Collins Baker described them as “worst aspirants”.

    A known leader of the PDP, Tokpo Coronation, said none of the persons mentioned in the statement could win an election.

    But Wilson said following the release of the statement, the restoration caucus had begun the process for selection of the party’s candidate for the November 16 governorship election.

    He said the decision was taken in a meeting under the leadership of Dickson, following the successful conclusion of the three-day fasting and prayer organised by the state to seek the face of God.

    Wilson, however, added that indication of interest by the three persons did not preclude other interested members of the Restoration Team from picking their forms.

    He explained that all such members interested in the governorship would be required to present themselves to the party and the caucus for necessary engagement.

    Wilson thanked members of the Restoration Team for their steadfastness, discipline, dedication and commitment to the affairs of the party and the administration over the years.

    He stressed that the team, which controls over 80 per cent of the PDP in Bayelsa, was the only group that had the cohesion, strength and capacity to win the next governorship election.

  • Bayelsa governorship: ‘We’ll stop APC returnees from clinching PDP ticket’

    THOSE returning to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State from the All Progressives Congress (APC) should forget about the PDP ticket in the next governorship election billed for November 16.

    The door was shut against the defectors by some youths within the Bayelsa chapter of the PDP under the auspices Youth Network. The youths vowed to prevent politicians who once abandoned the party for the rival APC from becoming PDP’s candidates

    Their Secretary-General James Oputin said in a statement in Yenagoa that any move by the leadership of the PDP to hand over the party to politicians and aspirants, “who turned their back on the party during critical moments,” would spell doom for it.

    Oputin urged the PDP national leadership to thread with caution “on the sensitive issue of electing a candidate for the gubernatorial contest in the state” in order not to endanger its chances of retaining political power.

    He claimed that the group’s members “were alarmed by an emergent alliance of those who have been fighting the government since 2012 and APC returnees who they fought hard to defeat during the 2015 elections.”

    Read Also: Bayelsa 2019: Audu Ogbeh endorses Lokpobiri for APC ticket

    According to him, it was “repugnant to social justice for some persons to make the sacrifice to nurture the party for the past seven years only to have a group of people to attempt to wrest control of it for electoral contest.”

    He warned that the PDPYN would mobilize its members in the state against any such attempt.

    “Those peddling the false narrative that the PDP would win the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State without the PDP Restoration Team which has waged all the battles for the party’s victories, nurtured it to a strong, cohesive platform, are not doing the party any good.”

    To him, there should be “a difference in reward between those who selfishly see the PDP only as a platform to pursue their gubernatorial ambition and those who have associated with it through thick and thin to build it to an impregnable and cohesive political platform.

    “The PDP is an attraction for political contest today because of the sacrifices of those who have remained in it such as the Youth Network, the Women Alliance, and the leadership all under the Restoration Family.”

    Furthermore, Oputin warned the party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus, to be wary of “noxious external influence and APC returnees and their divisive antics as the party moves to pick a gubernatorial candidate for the next election.

    He added: “It would be regrettable for the national leadership òf the PDP to think that the party would win the Bayelsa gubernatorial election without the support of Governor Dickson and the Restoration Team.

    “Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, must stand up in defence of what is right before it is too late.”

     

  • Dickson employs 335 professionals

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has offered automatic employment to 336 professionals.

    Of the 336 beneficiaries, 102 PhD holders drawn from the state and other Ijaw-speaking communities were employed as lecturers in the state-owned tertiary institutions.

    A statement by Dickson’s media aide, Fidelis Soriwei, said Dickson presented employment letters to the beneficiaries at the weekend.

    Other beneficiaries included 60 medical doctors, 54 masters’ degree holders and 119 first class graduates.

    Dickson said his administration was working hard to lay a solid foundation for a flourishing knowledge-based economy for the state.

    He said: “It takes a number of years for this kind of investment to mature. We are building schools and capacities, and in about 20 years or so, we want to see top qualified Bayelsa professors in every field.

    “We will create a fund to take care of publications for all those who have PhD to enable them produce more PhD holders. In the last seven years, we have been building educational infrastructure, awarding scholarships and employing. There is no doubt that we have done our duty, but the job of consolidating the gains lies with you. We expect the 102 PhD holders to become professors in the next couple of years.”

    Read Also: Nobody can take Bayelsa governorship by violence, says Dickson

    Secretary to the State Government and Chairman of the Special Employment Committee Kemela Okara was convinced that the beneficiaries would add value and increase productivity in the state workforce.

    Commissioner for Education Jonathan Obuebite hailed Dickson for keeping to his promise to turn around education. According to him, the feat achieved in the education sector under Dickson was exemplary and inspiring.

    Dickson has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for reappointing Boss Mustapha as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

    A statement by Soriwei, described the reappointment as “well deserved”.

    The statement reads: “I congratulate Mr. Boss Mustapha on his reappointment as Secretary to the Government of the Federation. This appointment is not surprising as the SGF carried out the vast responsibilities of his office efficiently with respect and dignity deserving of such a high office.

    “I also praise the President for this appointment, which is a recognition of the exemplary efforts of the SGF. I wish Boss Mustapha success in this particular position and in his future dealings.”

  • Alaibe should first apologise to PDP, says party members

    PEOPLES Democratic Party  (PDP) stakeholders in Bayelsa State, on Friday asked a former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, to first tender unreserved public apology to loyal members of the party  before thinking of using the platform to run for any election.

    The stakeholders under the auspices of the Bayelsa PDP Restoration Foot Soldiers (BPRFS) said Alaibe lacked the moral right to vie for the PDP ticket having serially betrayed the party especially at its trying times.

    The group in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Ebi Lawson, said it was against the principles of natural justice, equity and good conscience for Alaibe to be making efforts to harvest in a farm he failed to cultivate.

    The scribe further said it was an insult to loyal members of the party for Alaibe to have gone to obtain his nomination and  expression of interest forms at the PDP headquarters in Abuja in the company of persons, who had yet to vacate allegations of anti-party activities against them during the last elections in the state.

    The group said: “Undoubtedly, Alaibe has the constitutional right to contest the forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa, but Alaibe without publicly apologizing to all loyal members of the PDP in Nigeria and especially in Bayelsa is not qualified to be called a member of the PDP not to talk of contesting any election on the platform of the party.

    Read Also: Why I want to govern Bayelsa, by Alaibe

    “He lacks the moral right and the locus standii to be found among loyal party aspirants and he will continue to carry that moral burden until such a time he realizes the importance of loyalty and commitment to a political party.

    “It is on record that Alaibe betrayed the PDP when the party needed men of character, will and purpose to survive the hurricane of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Immediately the APC emerged at the federal level, Alaibe abandoned the PDP, jumped to the APC and tried to become its governorship candidate in Bayelsa.

    “At that moment and for the purpose of realizing his ambition only, he fought the PDP joining forces with the APC to uproot and dismantle the PDP in Bayelsa. He complicated the efforts of Governor Seriake Dickson and his dedicated restoration PDP members to fight for the survival of the PDP in Bayelsa. But Dickson and his team survived the volcano and nurtured PDP back to life.

    “He came back last year and since then had done nothing but to scheme his way to grab the governorship ticket of our party. And on July 4th’ we saw him at the Wadatta Plaza obtaining the forms of our party. To us his journey to Wadatta plaza will end in fiasco because any aspiration of Alaibe in Bayelsa PDP is a failed project.

    “We want to advise Alaibe to first and foremost apologize to the party for serially betraying it and joining forces with our detractors to end our existence. After the apology, Alaibe should exercise patience and show commitment in building a political party before thinking of using the party to run for an election. Alaibe must know that there are consequences for disloyalty”.

  • JAMB apprehends another UTME candidate for upgrading score from 162 to 206

    THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has apprehended another Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate, Cletus Kokowa, for upgrading his score from 162 to 206 with the help of a fraudster.

    Kokowa became the second candidate to be apprehended by the board following that of Adah Eche who was nabbed last month for similar offense.

    Kokowa confessed before the management of the board on Thursday that he was asked to pay N10,000 for the upgrading.

    The board told reporters that the candidate, with Registration Number 95329290ED from Bayelsa State, contacted the syndicate through a WhatsApp group a few weeks ago where he was told his score could be upgraded from 162.

    Read Also: JAMB withdraws UTME results of four candidates

    It explained that fraudsters later sent a fake result screen shot to Kokowa, stating that his score was now 206.

    However, when the result remained unchanged on the JAMB site, Kokowa’s father, Garen Kokowa, wrote a letter of complaint to the board asking for the rectification of his son’s scores.

    In the letter of complaint addressed to the JAMB Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, the suspect’s father wrote, “Your inability for swift response to address the issue has led to my son’s forfeiture of his Nigerian Defence Academy admission opportunity.

    “However, I am craving your indulgence to quickly rectify the result in affirmative to enable him have a good stand for his second choice of institution.”

    The board thereafter invited Kokowa to come with the two results as a proof, after which he confessed on Thursday to have employed a syndicate.

    His uncle, an army officer, who declined to give his name, accompanied Kokowa to the JAMB headquarters.

    The boy was afterwards handed over to the NSCDC officers.

    Kokowa said, “Those guys sent a mail to me that they could help me to upgrade my score. I then sent them my Registration number and e-mail. When the results were out and I checked, they showed me 206. Then, one of them called me asking me to pay them the money.

    “I later went to check and I found 162. I was confused. I had heard that upgrading scores was an offence but I didn’t really believe it. I did not tell my daddy and my uncle about the syndicate.”

    The JAMB Registrar, Oloyede, said the board would ensure the arrest and prosecution of candidates discovered to be involved in fraudulent practices before, during and after the examination

  • Who succeeds Dickson?

    At a recent church service in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, made it clear that God will determine his successor when his tenure ends in 2020.

    According to Dickson, such a leader would be one with a heart for the people, who will pilot the affairs of the state and build on the legacy of development established by his administration.

    This is certainly a good response to the many questions over who could possibly take over from the active governor in due course.

    Of course, the pressure is already on the governor as expected, who clearly have been experiencing a wide range of lobbying, especially among the professional politicians either directly or through proxy to influence the leadership succession in Bayelsa State.

    We must add here that such actions are quite legitimate but to the extent  that they are in tandem with some basic values vis-à-vis continuity and in relationship with the essentials of the Restoration administration on the key issues of good governance and overall development of the state.

    I think this is the first phase of the narrative in evaluating the road to succession in Bayelsa State post-Dickson era. The governor popularly referred to as the “Contriman Governor” for his unusual leadership characteristics of demystifying the whole apparatus of the elevated position as we know it in Nigeria, we must concede, has been phenomenal in leadership, making a huge success in governance of the oil-rich state and would arguably be leaving behind a worthy legacy.

    He is certainly an emerging political leader in Nigeria with respect to his administration’s exploits in vital areas of development such as education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, empowerment and good governance. Already, not a few believe he is likely to play some very active roles in national politics when he leaves the Government House in Yenagoa in 2020 and justifiably so.

    However, Dickson’s challenge is picking a worthy successor who will maintain and dutifully build on his gigantic legacy in the aforementioned areas of development and more, bearing in mind the notorious nature of some successors in recent history across the country, who once in office, turn around to fight their predecessors and in the process jettisoning the very foundations of the inherited policies and programmes instituted as a corporate governance philosophy and dear to the preceding leadership.

    Needless to state that this is one issue which Dickson and his core advisers must look into critically in choosing his successor and thus ensuring that the basic tenets of Restoration as the foundation of his notable achievements in government is well protected and preserved when he eventually leaves office. But this can only be realised by picking a trusted and loyal ambassador of Restoration as a governance philosophy.

    Expectedly, the process won’t be without the usual contestation of opinions coming from strategic political circles and caucuses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State and even from outside the party. But the clear understanding everyone must have is to allow reason to prevail at the end of the day rather than the selfish interest of anyone mainly to be in power.

    The entire leaders and members of the party must be sober in their reflections to come to terms with the state in which Dickson met Bayelsa in 2012 and the efforts and determination which went into the governance structure that produced what the entire nation is celebrating today as the Dickson legacy.

    This legacy must, therefore, be protected at all costs via a judicious leadership succession that can guarantee continuity and entrenchment of Dickson’s leadership vibrancy and continued all round development in Bayelsa State.

    Anything short of this is tantamount to annihilation of the legacy which would also be a disservice to democracy and the people of the state who, incidentally, have had a regrettable past in bad leadership until Dickson came on board. He has since restructured and renewed governance to truly serve the common good in a most remarkable manner. We must allow this to continue in a seamless manner through a worthy successor.

    The onus is on the governor and the key stakeholders to see to it that Dickson’s successor is picked based on the Bayelsa corporate enlightened interest devoid of any political sentiment but on merit and in consonance with the sole aim and agenda of entrenching Restoration as a political and governing philosophy in the state.

    By so doing, then the people can be sure of getting the dividends of democracy and never reverting to the past nor deviating from ongoing policies and programmes being implemented in the state.

    Essentially, Bayelsa needs consolidation on the current development initiatives and such life-changing reforms instituted by the Dickson administration. We must emphasise that Bayelsa does not need  the conventional run-of-the-mill politicians whose leadership and development perspectives could be so limited and possibly run contrary to what the Restoration philosophy has now established, thereby reversing the hand of the clock in development terms.

    The state needs a self-motivating leadership, one who is highly driven, hands-on, charismatic, pragmatic and a change agent, who truly embodies both the doggedness and vibrancy in vision and capacity to transform the bright ideas in government into reality. It is my humble submission that such a successor must be one who is a Restoration Ambassador and understands the culture, philosophy and underpinnings of the Dickson administration.

    Lest we forget that the transitional phase post-Dickson is a crucial period for clear-headed supervision and focus as well as maturation of most of the ongoing development activities which requires a suitable successor who can pragmatically husband the entire process and achieve the objectives of the current government and also build on them.

    The transition then becomes so strategic that the state leadership must be careful not to make any mistake either by pandering to political whims or a sentimental judgement which could jeopardise the great efforts so far devoted to growing the development trajectory in the state by the Restoration Government.

    Importantly, the state cannot afford a situation whereby the new leadership after Governor Dickson would begin amassing political empire once in office and dismantling the very structures of development inherited and possibly changing the laid down programmes of development and all other far-reaching projects the Restoration administration has laboured to build since 2012.

    The totality of my concern here is to ensure that Bayelsa State continues to deliver on the lofty development programmes and projects already in good shape as designed by the Dickson administration, especially in education, health, infrastructure and empowerment without disruption by a reckless successor.

     

    • Daniel Iworiso-Markson is Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information

  • Ijaw youths angry over ‘unfair’ recruitment

    All is seemingly not well among the Ijaw people in the Niger Delta as a result of recent announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to engage new employees in the corporation.

    Already, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has expressed displeasure over the recruitment process, saying it lacked transparency and fairness. The IYC particularly alleged that the corporation was sidelining qualified Ijaw people from its recent employment process.

    The Ijaw youths held an emergency meeting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital recently to criticise the process.

    Speaking after the meeting, the IYC Secretary-General, Alfred Kemepado, alleged that the employment announced recently by NNPC had been hijacked by some powerful people at the corporation and the Presidency.

    Kemepado said it smacked of injustice and unfairness for the Ijaw people, who suffer pains of oil exploration and exploitation, to be marginalised whenever there are job opportunities in the oil sector, especially the NNPC.

    He said: “Recently, you may have discovered that NNPC advertised for qualified individuals to apply for various positions in NNPC and applications were made around the country and as qualified and competent as the Ijaw are, most of us also applied for those jobs.

    “But information reaching us indicate that the Presidency has hijacked the process of recruitment and that the Ijaw people are being sidelined and we find that very offensive for many reasons.

    “One of the reasons is that we cannot continue to dwell in a country where they come around the Niger Delta, especially in the Ijaw territory drill the oil, take the oil and sustain this country called Nigeria and leave us with the associated diseases such as leukemia and the degraded environment. But when there is opportunity for employment, our people are always sidelined, marginalised and not considered at all. We find that very offensive.”

    Describing the situation as intolerable, Kemepado appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the new Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC to look into the issue and consider Ijaw people who are qualified for the existing job opportunities.

    “We appeal to the Presidency and the new GMD to look into this issue and ensure that Ijaw people who applied for those positions, whom we know are qualified for these positions should be considered and not sidelined by the list from the Presidency.

    “If that really happens, we will take it as an insult. From the inception of this government, we have been provoked many times. The time officials from the Presidency visited the Niger Delta, they promised that international oil companies would relocate to the Niger Delta. We did not see that happen. But we frown at this one and we are calling on the Presidency to have a rethink and do what is right.”

    Kemepado also maintained that the IYC received information to the effect that, following the appointment of the new boss of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the corporation would be restructured, even as he called on the Federal Government to consider Ijaw people during the process.

    He noted that Ijaw youths had been trained in the activities of the oil sector through various interventionist programmes such as the Amnesty Office, the NDDC and other scholarship schemes sponsored by the government.

    “They are eminently qualified since they possess local and foreign certificates. So, nobody can doubt the competence of the Ijaw people. Therefore, the country should not continue to provoke this region. The Ijaw Youth Council and the elders have done our beat to keep the peace in this region.

    “Let us make it abundantly clear that the peace that President Buhari has enjoyed for the past four years and the peace that has prevailed as a result of the continuous flow of oil was not as a result of what this government has done for the people of the Niger Delta.

    “It is only as a result of our resolve as a people to keep the peace here with the hope that in situation such as this, our people will not continue to be sidelined and I don’t want the Presidency to push its luck too far and further provoke our people.

  • AIG, crack team storm Bayelsa as manhunt begins for killers

    THE Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Zone 5, Dibai Yakadi, on Tuesday stormed Yenagoa following the attack on the Divisional Police Station in Agudiama-Ekpetiama, Bayelsa State, by unknown gunmen.

    Four policemen were killed; some injured.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), SP Ola Rosanla and an expectant officer, Joy Wellington, were among those killed by the gunmen, who also looted the armoury.

    Following the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A. Adamu, that the hoodlums should be apprehended immediately, Yakadi led his team from Benin, Edo State, to Bayelsa.

    It was gathered that the crack team constituted by the IG to find the whereabouts of the killers had started combing the creeks and various parts of the state.

    The AIG was said to have held a pepped up the officers and men of the command and urged them on actionable intelligence that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.

    Read Also: Bayelsa guber: Okoko picks N21m PDP forms

    The AIG was said to have appealed to the police personnel at the Yenagoa command office not to rest until their colleagues’ killers were arrested and brought to justice.

    It was gathered that the AIG visited the scene of the incident at Agudaima-Ekpetiama to assess the damage done to the station and the way and manner the hoodlums carried out the attack.

    Yakadi was said to have held a meeting with some representatives of the community and appealed to them to help the police with useful information to arrest the culprits.

    Police spokesman Butswat Asinim said the AIG visited the injured policemen recuperating at a hospital in Yenagoa.

    He said Yakadi promised the injured policemen that their attackers would be found, adding that the IG crack team had started a special operation to arrest the suspects.

  • IG deploys detectives to fish out killers

    The Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu on Monday ordered a massive manhunt for the gunmen who killed four policemen in Bayelsa State.

    The attack on Agudama Ekpetiama Police Station in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, left two other officers injured.

    Condemning the act in a statement in Abuja by the Force spokesman, Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), the IG said the attack resulted in the death of the Divisional Police Office (DPO), Ola Rosanla, a Superintendent of Police (SP) with three other officers and left two others injured.

    Adamu, while pledging that no stone would be left unturned towards apprehending the perpetrators, also ordered the immediate deployment of crack detectives to Yenagoa.

    The detectives were drawn from the IGP-Intelligence Response Unit (IRT), the Forensic and Homicide sections of the FCID and Special Operatives of the Marine Police Department to complement the efforts of the Bayelsa Police Command in carrying out discrete investigation into the unfortunate incident.

    Read Also: Man accused of hiring assassin

    The IG paid tribute to the four fallen officers and condoled with members of their families.

    The officers, according the IG, paid the supreme price in the service of their fatherland. He described the incident as a classic example of the risk and sacrifices the police are exposed to in their daily task of protecting our homeland.

    The IG also urged the Agudama Ekpetiama Community and the entire people of Bayelsa State to remain calm and to avail the Police with credible information that will help the Law Enforcement agencies to apprehend the criminals.