The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayelsa youths

  • Dickson scared of defeat-Bayelsa youths

    Bayelsa youths yesterday said the body language and utterances of Governor Seriake Dickson ahead of the December 5 governorship election have given him away as someone scared of defeat.

    The youths, under the auspices of Youth Forum for Progressive Change (YFPC), advised the governor to shelve his second term ambition, saying that Dickson’s attacks on the personalities of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders were indications of fear.The group made its position known after its meeting in Yenagoa in a communiqué signed by its National Coordinator, Aye Itare; Secretary, Mr. Jonathan Okwu, and Public Relations Officer, Mr. Amamboha John.

    It said Dickson was jittery following the attacks his office was sponsoring against politicians that signified intention to contest the election against him.

    The YFPC said: “We, as civilised Bayelsa youths, hereby admonish Governor Seriake Dickson that governing the people is not a do-or-die affair.

    “Our admonition to Dickson is hinged on the fact that no amount of insults, willful misrepresentation of facts, innuendos nor plain attacks or derogatory remarks by him or his supporters on the persons of APC leaders in the state such as Tiwei Orunimighe, former Governor Timipre Sylva, Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, Chief Diekivie Ikiogha, or any other governorship aspirants can make him return in 2016.”

  • Bayelsa youths back Sylva for governor

    Bayelsa youths back Sylva for governor

    Agbama youths have unfolded plans to mobilise support for the governorship ambition of Chief Timpreye Sylva in Bayelsa State.

    In a statement by the President of Bayelsa Youth Leaders Movement, Mr. Governor Kuku,  the youths described the former governor as the best man for the job.

    “We believe that Chief Timipre Sylva has experience in the public and private sectors. His deep knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of our Federal Government place him in a vantage position to provide desirable leadership for Bayelsa State,” Kuku said.

    The youths promised to campaign for power shift, adding that Governor Seriake Dickson has failed to live to expectation.

    Kuku extolled the qualities of the former governor, saying that he is a competent administrator.

    He said:  “Chief Timipre Sylva  is a  pride to Bayelsa State and Nigeria. He is one with extra-ordinary flames of passion for the development of the less privileged people in the society. He is an icon of democracy, justice, accountability and development.

    Kuku urged traditional ruklers

    Specifically, they urged the traditional rulers and community leaders to encourage Sylva to contest for the governor.

    He said: “Our ultimate goal, no matter where we stand on the political spectrum, is the uplifting of the state and the political, economic, cultural and social well-being of our people. Sylva’s emergence will foster unity and progress in Bayelsa State.”

    Also, a group, the Niger Delta People’s Movement, urged the people to take their destiny in their hands by joining the vehicle of change.

    The group said, if merit is the creterion, Sylva is the best man for the job.

    In a statement in Yenagoa, the state capital, the group’s spokesperson, Ibifuro Tatua said:  “Sylva will protect the people’s right to sustainable economic development, quality education, job creation, improved healthcare services and poverty alleviation through empowerment programmes.”

     

     

     

     

  • Director to Bayelsa youths: farming can give you fame, money

    The Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Bayelsa, Dr Francis Umokoro, has advised the unemployed youth in the state to embrace agriculture as business.

    Umokoro, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa on Tuesday, said that farming could give them fame.

    According to him, agricultural development is also good for the nation building and will also boost food production.

    “No nation can survive without agriculture; so, let us encourage food production because our land is highly fertile for all kinds of crops.

    “We have gone round Bayelsa and established that you need no irrigation for any plantation, especially rice because of the swampy nature of the environment.

    “Cassava can survive; beans, yam and vegetable fruits can also survive here in Bayelsa.

    “It worries me each time I pass through highways and see vast of uncultivated land lying fallow and yet our youths are going round in circle without jobs,” the Director stressed.

    Umokoro said that to overcome the threat of unemployment in the country, all hands must be on deck, urging the youth in Bayelsa to develop interest in farming now.

    He said that the Federal Government was committed to building of human capacity in the area of agriculture.

    “The government has been up-and-doing in supplying farm inputs like fertiliser, tractors, seedling among others.

    “Bayelsa has been benefiting from the distribution of this fertiliser which is done on a subsidised rate and distribution is always four bags per hectare.

    “The farmers get them on a subsidised price, which means that the Federal Government pays 25 per cent, the state pay 25 per cent while the farmers pay 50 per cent.

    “So, the government has made it so easy that even the young farmers can invest and survive with farming; they can go for credit loan in banks,” he said.

    The director urged farmers in the state to educate the unemployed youth on the importance of agriculture in order to support farming business in the state and Nigeria at large.

     

  • Shell faults Bayelsa youths for blocking facility

    Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)  has faulted the reasons behind the barricade of its Gbaran-Ubie Integrated Gas Plant in Bayelsa State by community youths.

    Aggrieved youths from Obunagha community were said to have blocked access to the SPDC’s joint venture multi-billion dollar facility to protest alleged neglect by the company.

    SPDC spokesman Mr. Joseph Obari yesterday debunked the allegations against the company, saying SPDC had never neglected its host communities.

    He said the oil firm had progressively fulfilled sustainable community development projects under the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU).

    “Some youths from Gbarain have blocked access to the processing unit of SPDC JV’s Gbaran-Ubie Integrated Oil and Gas Plant in Bayelsa State over alleged failure by SPDC to provide amenities to the host community.

    “It is not true that SPDC has neglected host communities of our Gbaran-Ubie facility. We have progressively fulfilled agreed sustainable community development projects under the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU).

    “For example, in 2014, projects worth over N100 million were completed in the GMoU cluster, covering 10 communities. The Bayelsa State government is leading discussions with the youths to end the protest.”

    Obari said: “The well was closed-in about 15 hours later, once it was safe to do so and the impacted area boomed off to prevent further spread of the spill.

    ”A Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) has been conducted, but it only determined the quantity of oil spilled and mapped the area of impact to the environment. A follow-up JIV is being planned to lift the line from underwater.”

  • Bayelsa youths: Dickson’s, First Lady’s relationship cordial

    Bayelsa youths: Dickson’s, First Lady’s relationship cordial

    A socio-political group, Bayelsa Youth for Peace Initiatives and Good Governance, has warned political office seekers and their supporters against heating up the polity.

    The group, which expressed dismay over the “frosty relationship” between Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, over 2015-2016 elections, threatened to mobilise against politicians “fanning the embers of discord”.

    A statement yesterday in Abuja by BYP President Charles Ebi said there was a cordial relationship among President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife and Dickson.

    The statement said: “Governor Dickson is a notable member of the Green Movement, President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation, when he was Bayelsa State governor.

    “Also, when he was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Dickson was among the leading campaigners for the enthronement of President Jonathan as Acting President and his subsequent elevation as President.

    “At different fora, the governor made it clear to the people his love and support for President Jonathan and his family. Recently, Dickson, as a leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, led other party members to endorse the President for the second term.

    “As a true democrat, he has warned the people against politics of name-dropping, blackmail and propaganda, arguing that it is against democratic norms. Leadership is about service delivery, not name-dropping, as we are experiencing in the state.

    “As far as we are concerned, there is no problem between the governor and the wife of the President. The purported rift between the President’s wife and Governor Dickson is the handiwork of mischief makers and political jobbers, who are hell-bent in disrupting the prevailing peace and stability in the state.

    “As true Ijaw sons and daughters, we do not believe in washing our dirty linen in the public. If there are issues at all, which is highly in doubt, we know how to address them without breaching the peace and creating chaos all over the place…”