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Tag: Bayelsa

  • Day Bayelsa celebrated ban of okada

    Day Bayelsa celebrated ban of okada

    On August 31, last year, activities of commercial motorcyclists popularly known as okada were banned in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, by the administration of Governor Seriake Dickson.

    The government acted on public outcries that commercial motorcycles were the reasons behind the rising cases of death and disabilities, armed robberies and chaotic traffic situation in Yenagoa.

    But, despite the complaints, there were mixed feelings when the government restricted commercial motorcyclists to the hinterland and introduced a new transport scheme christened Restoration Cabs in the capital city.

    As part of the new transport scheme, the government acquired 200 cars and 36 buses to cushion the effects of okada’s exit.

    Fears mounted. Residents recalled that similar schemes by past administrations had hit the brick wall. They remembered that such schemes were used as political patronage as politicians who were loyal to the government cornered the cars and converted them to personal use.

    They recollected the taxes acquired for public use which disappeared from the roads and streets. They were only seen in churches, events, relaxation spots and homes of their beneficiaries.

    But after one year, the doubting ‘Thomases’ are surprised at the dogged manner in which the governor has managed the scheme through the Transport Ministry headed by Mrs. Marie Ebikake.

    Therefore, it was with pride that Mrs Ebikake and her members of staff, the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), government officials, Restoration Cab drivers and other stakeholders in the transport sector assembled recently at the Banquet Hall to celebrate the one-year success of the scheme.

    Ebikake, who was particularly happy that she had not failed the people and the governor, rewarded 30 drivers of the cabs. She said such drivers should henceforth take their cars home and remit only N2000 daily to the ministry, instead of N2,500. They were selected for maintaining their cars well.

    She, however, said others who were not among the awardees should continue to park their cabs at the surroundings of the Banquet Hall after their daily operations. She appreciated them by also reducing their daily remittances to N2,000.

    The commissioner attributed her success to the operators, her ministry’s staff and the transparency initiated by the governor of the state.

    She said: “ Previous administrations started this programme. Every administration that came onboard had taxi to empower the masses but no one could survive the way we have survived today.

    “We started with 200 cabs and then we had about 36 buses. People thought when we started that it was going to be a failed story like the previous ones.”

    Ebikake further explained the technology behind the management of the scheme.

    She said: “Today, you cannot run away with our cabs, we will catch you. Even as l sleep on my bed l can see you and l will catch you. That is the level of technology we are using to track these vehicles. I am sure some of you remembered how we went to Ogoni to bring in a cab.”

    Though she observed that 11 of the 200 cars were involved in accident during the period, she said it was not a bad ratio. She asked drivers, who were not among the awardees, to be more committed and dedicated in their duties.

    “If you don’t hear your name today, try harder because we are going to be doing this thing quarterly. I am also aware that many of you have empowered yourself with this programme. You own your houses, pay your house rents and take care of your families,” she said.

    She added that the ministry had taken delivery of nine simulators valued at N50m ($336,000) from the New York, the economic capital of America. She said that the simulators were acquired to equip the newly constructed driving school in Yenagoa adding that the simulators were being installed at the driving school.

    She said the school would be commissioned soon. She added that seven of the simulators were acquired to train operators of cars while two were dedicated for articulated vehicle trainees.

    She said the government also sent five engineers to New York for training on the use of the simulators. She said the transport sector was doing well in the state because of the transparent manner it was being managed by the ministry.

    She said: “We have come to realise that most people don’t know how to drive and we have to go digital not analogue at all times. In Bayelsa State, there are many things going on.

    “We are not using fairly used cars to teach you how to drive; we are using what we called simulators. We just took delivery of them from New York about a week ago. We also sent five of our engineers to New York.

    “These simulators are equipment to train drivers. You are inside the classroom hall sitting and driving as if you are driving on the road.”

    The Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Mr. Fredi Akeni, praised Mrs Ebikake for her commitment.

    He said: “We need to appreciate when somebody has done well. Transport programmes had emerged previously but they were not sustained due to one reason or the other.

    “But our friend is resolute to ensure that no big man or small man hijack the programme. We are aware that previously when taxes like that came up to benefit people, some persons would hijack it and pack these cars in their home. But she was able to fight the battle and the taxes were delivered to the beneficiaries.”

    He appealed to drivers of the cabs to improve in their operations by ensuring zero tolerance to accident.

    “11 were daunted within this period out of 200. We need to be more careful. Accidents don’t just happen but they are caused. Try to observe road signs,” he said.

    Also, the state Chairman, NURTW, Mr. Eribo ThankGod, said the union was happy with the administration of Dickson and the leadership qualities of Mrs Ebikake. He, however, played the Oliver Twist by appealing to the government to do more in lifting the downtrodden.

    Furthermore, the state Chairman of the Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Mr. Chris Adokeme, said he was elated at the way the scheme has been managed.

     

  • Good times for Bayelsa’s expectant mums

    Good times for Bayelsa’s expectant mums

    The Tombia community hall in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State was congested on Monday. Pregnant women and teenagers trooped to the hall to catch a glimpse of the event and perhaps to assuage their doubts.

    “Is it true that henceforth the government will be paying us for going to health centres?” One of the women inquired from another. “That is what they are saying. But it is strange that our husbands will impregnate us, the government will treat us free and still give us money”, the woman who sat close to Niger Delta Report responded with doubts.

    But shortly after the brief conversation, the women paid attention as the organisers of the programme started calling first set of beneficiaries. Seridon Pere was among the beneficiaries.

    She received an envelope containing N4,500. She got the money for registering at the Tombia Health Centre, completing her ante natal and for giving birth at the health centre.

    “I am very happy”, she told Niger Delta Report. “This to me is unbelievable. I want to advise women who are pregnant to register in government-approved health centres for safe delivery and to benefit from this cash.

    “I registered at the health centre when l was pregnant. I followed it up with ante-natal and l was also delivered of my baby at the health centre. I and still taking my child through immunization there.”

    The event was the pilot programme of maternal and child health Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT). It is a new strategy adopted by the Federal Government to reduce maternal mortality in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    By the scheme, a pregnant woman who registers in government-approved health centres, receives N1000. If the woman goes through her ante natal, she gets another N1000. If she is delivered of her baby in the health centre, she gets another N1000 while she gets N2000 for taking her child through immunisation.

    The scheme, which is aimed at using cash to lure pregnant women to approved healthcare centres for maternal care, was inaugurated under the Maternal and Child Health component of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P).

    The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, SURE-P, Dr. Ado Muhammad, said President Goodluck Jonathan has demonstrated his commitment in saving the lives of women and children through the programme.

    He said the scheme was part of the global Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) which he said was being implemented by National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

    He said it was additional mechanism by the Federal Government to fast-track Ngeria’s progress towards the achievements of goals four and five of the MDGs.

    He said the SURE-P MCH, had enlisted and deployed over 4000 midwives and 1000 community health extension workers to 1000 primary healthcare facilities linked to 250 general hospitals in the country.

    He said the maternal and child health component of the SURE-P aspires to contribute to the reduction of maternal and new born morbidity and mortality and increase maternal access to health services.

    Explaining further, he said: “The conditional cash transfer programme provides cash incentives to pregnant women in communities as a means of encouraging them to go through the full continuum of care”.

    He named the full continuum of care as antenatal care visit, post natal care, first immunisations and family planning visits.

    “Completing this continuum of care allows for safety during and after pregnancy for both mother and child. It is important to note that the SURE-P MCH programme is one of the main platforms by which we intend to save lives under the Saving One Million Lives Initiative”, he said.

    For the purpose of the programme, he said 43 midwives, 66 community health extension workers have been recruited, trained and deployed to 12 primary health care facilities in the state.

    Following the gap between the selected primary health care centres and the communities, he said SURE-P MCH decided to invest in female village health workers, a development he said was an innovative addition to healthcare workforce in Nigeria.

    He said: “They have been selected by the Ward Development Committees (WDCs) with the support of Bayelsa State government officials.

    “This additional cadre of village health workers who are residents of their communities are very critical because of the challenges of retention and getting healthcare workers to live and work amongst the rural communities doing outreach work.”

    The paramount ruler of the community, His Highness C.A.O. Otobotekere, said the community was delighted at the programme. He described it as the first step towards taking care of the human factor in line with the transformation agenda of the President.

    He, however, called for the sustainability of the programme observing that Tombia, Gbarantoru and Akibiri communities had done their best for mother and child.

    He said: “Already, the Tombia community out of its own steam has provided a functional health centre with increasing clients, provided adequate water system, installed electrical gadgets and dug the foundation of extension of the health centre by four rooms to meet demands.

    “We are determined to achieve all this for the society around, indigenes, strangers, visitors, government workers and all.”

    He, however, demanded assistance from the government to provide security personnel, midwives and salaries of workers at the health centre.

     

  • Bayelsa realises N140m from transport scheme in one year

    BAYELSA State said that the Ministry of Transport in the state has so far realised N140million from its new transport scheme christened Restoration Taxis.

    The government had last year banned commercial motorcyclists in the Yenagoa, the state capital, and introduced new taxis.

    The Commissioner for Transport, Mrs. Marie Ebikake, who spoke yesterday at an event to mark the first anniversary of the transport scheme, said that the government spent over N500million to buy the vehicles.

    She said: “It is good that government could realise such an amount from the cab operators. We have to commend the governor for the transparency in programme he introduced.

    “Because of that transparency, we decided to follow up and all these vehicles you are seeing today, all have trackers and nobody can escape with any of these vehicles.”

    She further said the state had taken delivery of nine simulators valued at N50m ($336,000) from New York, the economic capital of America.

    She also hinted that the school would be commissioned immediately Governor Seriake Dickson returned from his official trip.

  • GOMBE UTD VS BAYELSA UTD: I would rather die than fix a match — Yarma

    GOMBE UTD VS BAYELSA UTD: I would rather die than fix a match — Yarma

    As the Globacom Premier League enters its climax this weekend across the country, Executive chairman of the Gombe State Sports Commission, Malam Farouk Yarma has said that he would rather die than to fix the game between Gombe United and Bayelsa United.

    Recall that visitng Bayelsa United who are currently placed 2nd on the log with 61pts, needs an outright victory to leap frog the duo of Kano Pillars and Enyimba who are on 63pts and 60pts respectively to claim a second league title.

    An angry Yarma in a telephone call put through to SportingLife on Thursday said:”Its absolute an embarrassing talk from the numerous calls I have been receving from group of persons I would want to mention their names, including sports journalists since the week, pleading with me that I should help Bayelsa United win the league by making Gombe United to lose the game.

    “Let me state here clearly, I would rather die than to fix a match in the Globacom Premier League.

    “I have a career and name that took my years to build, and for these persons to think I would stoop low by fixing the game to favour Bayelsa United are dead drunk.

    “As the head of sports in this state, I want Gombe United to finish on a better position on the log as this is the best way to justify government money spent on the team this season.

    “My candid advise to Bayelsa United is, just as Kano Pillars did, they should come to Gombe and play football if they so desire to win the league.

    “However, I want to assure stakeholders in our footballs and Nigerians that the Savannah Scorpions is not a match fixing team as we’ll fire all cylinders to ensure that we beat Bayelsa United as we seek to end the season on a high note.”

  • Bayelsa United vow: Title race to go down the wire

    Bayelsa United vow: Title race to go down the wire

    The league title race is now down to three-horse race after Enyimba’s dream to win the league evaporated at the Akure Township Stadium where they were beaten 2-0 by Sunshine Stars.

    Kano Pillars, Bayelsa United and El Kanemi Warriors are the only teams that nurture aspirations to win the crown after all three won their home games yesterday in the matchday 37 Glo Premier League ties.

    Sai Masu defeated Dolphins by a lone goal from Gambo Mohammed in the added on time of the first half to hand maximum points to the league’s reigning champions while Bayelsa United and El Kanemi also surmounted their opponents, Kwara United and Lobi Stars respectively.

    Pillars are first with 63 points while Bayelsa United and El Kanemi are second and third with 61 and 60 points respectively.

    Bayelsa United’s George Ameli revealed to SportingLife that the Restoration Boys defeated the Afonja Warriors through goals from Chigozie Christopher and Adamu Mohammed in the 1st and 84th minutes before Evans Iyoro reduced the arrears for Kwara United in the 17th minute.

    He boasted that Bayelsa United would be gunning for an away win to ensure they win the league on the final day.

    “The race for the title will go down to the wire and we are ready to shock our opponents away from home to ensure we win the league on the final day of matches,” Ameli stated.

    Enyimba’s 2-0 loss to Sunshine Stars means their best position could only be second if other results go in their favour and they also secure home win over Sharks.

    They are presently fourth on the log with 59 points from 37 matches. Former player, Philip Auta’s spot kick in the 45th minute and Ebenezer Odunlami’s powerful header in the 80th minute extinguished the Peoples Elephant’s faint hope to win the league title and halted their desperation to get an equaliser.

  • Bayelsa police intensify clampdown on new PDP

    * Invade residence of ex-Sylva’s aide

    The police in Bayelsa State are not relenting in their war against members of the Kawu Baraje-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) popularly called the new PDP.

    The police, in their latest onslaught against members of the group, intensified their search for Chief Richard Kpodo, the interim leader of the state’s new PDP and former Security Adviser to the embattled ex-Governor Timipre Sylva.

    Over six patrol vans of armed police operatives were said to have been deployed in Trofani, the community of Kpodo in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state on Thursday.

    The invasion came a week after the police said they had raised a high-powered committee to investigate some allegations leveled against Kpodo.

    But the arrival of the policemen, it was learnt, created panic in the community.

    The operatives were said to have stormed the area at about 6am and surrounded the home of Kpodo.

    It was learnt that they searched the home and arrested three persons, including two members of Kpodo’s family.

    Sources said one Mr. Igoni Besuo Ekisowei, a 50-year old caretaker of the house, was among the persons arrested.

    But the operatives who were said to have left the area at about 11am could not find Kpodo.

    A source close to the family, who simply identified himself as Kelvin, said there was confusion when a long convoy of police vans stormed the community.

    “We saw a long convoy of policemen move to the Kpodo home and conducted a search. They drove all of us away while the search was on. They even arrested two persons”, he said.

    Kpodo who spoke on telephone confirmed that his home was invaded by the police.

    He alleged that the police were being used by the state government to deny him his rights as an indigene of the state.

    He claimed that the policemen were sent to his house to plant arms and ammunition so as to later charge him for gun running.

    He alleged that the police authorities in the state had set up a squad with the instruction to gun him down whenever they see him.

    Kpodo said, “The incident has been reported to me. More than 100 policemen were sent to my house. I wonder what I have done to warrant such harassment and intimidation.

    “I also got security information that another mandate of the policemen, apart from arresting my people, is to plant arms and ammunition to discredit me. Through that, they will have reason to prosecute me for illegally dealing in arms.

    “I learnt that the police authorities have set up a squad to hunt me and kill me. I know all those campaigns will fail because I have not done them anything.

    “So, I heard that they had succeeded in arresting three persons, including my relation. This whole thing is because we formed a “New PDP” and that we have been critical of the government through our various reactions to government’s policies.”

    He said nobody could intimidate him from expressing his fundamental human rights, adding that he would go to court soon to enforce his rights.

    He said: “The action of the police is a show of recklessness and impunity. They have become a political tool of vendetta.

    “How can they invade my home over allegation made by the state government that I am inciting the people?

    “The claims of inciting the public against me is frivolous. I am simply a victim of witch-hunt by the police and their master. I was referred to as a murderer without trial and indictment.

    “It is pathetic. All I did was to ask some few questions on the policies and spendings of the state. It is my right to as question as a Bayelsan and it should be the duty of the government to answer such questions without malice.”

    When contacted on the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.Alex Akhigbe said he was not aware of the development.

     

  • Dickson: I won’t borrow to run Bayelsa

    Dickson: I won’t borrow to run Bayelsa

    The Transparency Law appears to be working only in the level of the state government. Are the local government areas exempted from it?

    The Transparency Law requires chairmen of the various local government councils to give account of their income and expenditure. I hope they are doing that faithfully. Well, the leaders and other stakeholders of the various local government areas should rise to the occasion because they all need to do that.Our people at all levels need to know how we are exercising public power and expending public resources. The way we have restructured our affairs at this level, it is difficult for anybody from me to the least appointee in government to be a millionaire or billionaire from your resources. It is not possible at all.

    Every time, before we make approvals or anything, the finance team comes to me. The chairman of that finance team is the Commissioner for Finance not the Accountant General. The Director Treasury after the three of them, I even have another appointee, Special Adviser on Treasury and Accounts, Mr. Timipre Seipulo who is not a civil servant. He is a professional accountant.So they all come and scrutinize it and there is no one instruction that I have given one day other than what is regular and in the course of running your government, we would like stakeholders in the local government areas to rise to the occasion. I am really surprised if the level of compliance is not very good.

    Despite reforms you embarked upon to professionalise the civil service, the civil servants in the state always sound unhappy and disenchanted. Don’t you think their happiness is key to your restoration agenda?

    The conduct of our civil servants is a concern that a lot of stakeholders in this state have.For example, we are spending as much as N3.962bn for payment of salaries. Where are these people? Just this morning, I gave instructions for the apprehension of some civil servants; I directed that they be arrested and investigations be carried out.

    Unknown to them, I have different layers of surveillance set up by which we monitor what goes on. I have told everybody that government is not a place where you come and become a millionaire or billionaire because there is not enough for that. There is not enough for stealing and certainly not enough to do the peoples work.If you want to live a flamboyant lifestyle, take a facility then go and be a businessman and I will support you to be a billionaire but the management of the resources of our people can not be left like that and I will like to be understood because this is a revolution.

    We have to all change the mentality of our people to work, which happily, is changing. Now with the measures we have taken, civil servants now go to work. I had to call out our leaders, Senator Rufus Inatimi Spiff led the verification team in his Brass Local Government; Senator John Braimbaifa led the team for Sagbama, my local government.You need to see the reports that they turned in. There are people on the state’s payroll who have no business being there. When Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha established the Development.

    But the civil service especially in the local government areas is still fraught with payroll fraud?

    Let me tell you about the local government areas, the whole idea was to move government closer to our people.We are grateful to the military and Gen. Sani Abacha, you know, we always honour his memory for creating this state but he did not create more local government areas and people who are afar think that Bayelsa is one state with eight local government areas.

    They do not know that in my local government for example, when I was campaigning, it would take me three days to go round; it will take me another three days to cover Ekeremor. It will take four or five days to cover Southern Ijaw. If you go to Nembe and Brass, it is the same story and that is the story all over.

    Everybody kept putting his or her relation and friends on the payroll from that time till now. The same with the local government areas and civil service to the extent that people who were even in an acting capacity will approve hundreds of people to be employed and then the propaganda will be that Hon. Seriake Dickson is sacking people; he is not civil service friendly.

    My dear people, this is not just for me alone, we have to save our state. If this state sinks, the Ijaw Nation sinks. This state must stand out as a beacon of hope.It is when we are able to eliminate these things that we can now have enough resources to build the schools that we are building.

    We are building so many you all know. We are building roads. We are thinking of how to get partners to work with us to build roads and bridges in our difficult terrain; a road from Nembe to Brass will cost us almost N90 billion; that of Ekeremor to Agge is estimated at N120billion but we will not be deterred because we are determined to open up our state.

    So we must all key into this vision. When I exercise restraint in the recurrent approvals, people misunderstand it because people find it difficult to change.

    Are you saying there are no dedicated civil servants in the state?

    Talking about civil servants, I know that we have hard working, dedicated crop of civil servants. And what I have always said is that, for the majority of you who are dedicated to the cause of development of your only state, please do not allow the antics of the fraudulent ones in your midst to destroy your service. I have always told civil servants that, those of us who are in government are temporary occupants of the house. As political office holders, we have a fixed tenure – four years and if God and the people permit, another four years renewable and no more.

    Some appointees in the cabinet have no tenure but the real stakeholders are the civil servants because they have 60 years or 35 years, whichever comes first. But we know a great majority of you are upright and doing a great job in our state, which is the right thing to do and we are grateful but please be more vigilant.

    I saw from the report I always get from my sources how people are still trying to beat our system. For instance, if a person’s salary is supposed to be N200,000, they will add over a hundred thousand naira. And what they record for their payment is different; the actual thing they send to the bank to pay is different.

    I have directed the Commissioner of Police to beam his searchlight on them, and I am happy he is saying work in that regard has started. I have no apologies to make to any civil servant for doing the right thing for our people. This state is bigger than me, this state is bigger than any civil servant and I am not going to be blackmailed.

    They will say ah, he is not civil servant friendly, go and bring those crooks that will wreck this state again if you do not want to do what is right but God will not allow it. This state has risen up, and we are not prepared to go back to where we are coming from again. We are addressing the issue of civil servants because the finance team is deploying a technology and my expectation is that with the report it has given, by the end of this year, that system should kick in where we will be able to track everybody.

    I also want to call on all the political leaders in all the various ministries to also ‘shine your eyes’. As commissioners, you must take responsibility for what your permanent secretaries and directors are doing particularly in this area. I believe that we can still reduce the wage bill, I do not feel comfortable anytime I see it because I know that there are states in this same country older than Bayelsa with a larger population paying salaries with their entire state allocation that is not even up to N3.9billion that we are spending on civil servants and everyday, the complaint is, “you are not civil service friendly.”

    The civil servants are complaining about the new tax regime in the state. Dont you think the taxes are outrageous?

    They want more and more instead of rendering service; it is either this allowance is not paid or that one is not done and payment of tax has been an issue; tax that I did not impose. We did not impose any new tax; it is an existing law of this country and every state is complying with it. When I set up a committee, chaired by one of our best, Chief Francis Doukpola, and said look we have to work hard to increase our tax strength. I said go ahead and make recommendations. He said look, there is a tax law called, Personal Income Tax Act (PITA).It is a federal law and it is only the National Assembly that can repeal it and states are complying with it. Our honest advice to you is to implement that law as others are doing and that is what we have done.

    My appointees are even paying more than civil servants because it is based on the principle of ‘the more you earn, the more you pay’. That is why in our financial report, the Deputy Governor read that our Internally Generated Revenue has risen from about N60million to N833million every month.

    So that is the sacrifice all of us must make. The finance team is working with consultants to see how we will even broaden our tax net in this state. Go to states like Lagos and see what they do. You open a shop and you pay your tax. We must do that in this state. Particularly when we are using your tax judiciously because you are seeing it.

    The children that we are sending on scholarships are our children; the money we are spending to make Bayelsa one of the safest states in this country is for all of us. And when we start our compulsory boarding system, we will be feeding boarders in this state. When the secondary schools we are building all over the state are completed, particularly the constituency secondary schools, those who will be there will become state responsibility.

    I have heard that I am communalizing governance. In my view, government exists for the people and not the other way round. We have a duty to educate our children, incubate them and train them well. They are our future. We cannot claim we are making progress, if they are not better than us.

    Why have you shied away from talking about the liabilities and debts inherited by your administration?

    When we first came in, we took some decisions in the overall interest of our state.We want to move forward. When we see Bayelsa mentioned in a negative light, we feel bad because we are actually out to rebrand Bayelsa everyday and everywhere we go to (even outside this country) in a positive light.

    We want to be known and respected for the decent human beings that we are. We did not want to raise issues with the lenders because we felt the state should move forward. That is what we have done but we have taken your advice and the finance team will consider that while preparing the report because the liabilities are two-fold; you have the bond liabilities, which are taken at source and the bank facilities which were there before we came in.

    The news making the rounds is that despite your earlier promise not to take loan, you have taken 60 million Euros loan from Poland. What is your position on this?

    The point you raised is what the Deputy Governor wanted to address when he was giving the financial breakdown. I made the Deputy Governor to chair the committee that I set up because of his military background. Of course, you know he is a retired Rear Admiral. I sent him to Poland where he had a useful meeting with the Polish government.

    Because of the new image our state enjoy now investors within this country and outside are willing to come in; the Polish government offered to work with us to build our Maritime Academy which is like a university. We wanted to start a small academy in Okpoama in Brass Island so that we can have this major facility there. This state has potentials because of our maritime nature. We are all water people and so we want to dominate the maritime industry going forward.

    Today, there are countries like the Philippine whose Gross Domestic Product mainly comes from sea-farers. Why can’t Bayelsa aspire to that?

    We want the best for our people; we dream big dreams for our people and we need your support and cooperation to actualise it.

    The Polish ambassador came here, I did not go to Poland; he came and said governor, we are seeing what you are doing, we are a big maritime nation, we can work with you to develop your maritime potentials. It was thereafter I sent the Deputy Governor to lead a delegation to Poland and they were given a red carpet reception.

    And then they came back.The President of Poland visited President Goodluck Jonathan, our dear president and brother. They raised in their bilateral meeting, the discussions they had with us. “Look, your Governor and people of Bayelsa are working hard; we want to support them. And what do they want to do? They wrote to us saying that, we have free funds.”

    This is the Government of Poland, a sovereign nation and not a state. So we should consider ourselves privileged that a sovereign nation wants to support us. They said to me, “look, we want to work with you to build your maritime academy, we have funds; we have the expertise; we are actually going to affiliate it with our own maritime academy or university.

    We will build and run it and train people in that place, get them certified and they would be marketable all over the world. We will allow you in such a way that the operations of that university become commercial in this country and in West Africa. And because the business is international and highly regulated, people who do not have sufficient training cannot get employment.

    That is why other countries like the Philippines, who position themselves, excel. I confirmed with them that Bayelsa will not pay one naira back and they said no problem. They will bring the fund and then when the institute is set, they would also admit students from all over Africa and other places for training. Then they will now service it and get it right. It is a “Tied Direct Aid (TDA).”

    So the financial aid is tied to a project, we are not going to receive their money and spend it. They will supply the manpower and the ships. Then when they finish with the admissions and training, they will now recoup their initial investment in the Maritime Academy. We are not taking that as a bank facility as was done before; get that clearly. It is not a bank facility with interest; no I will not go near that.

    I have been in office for 16 months, you should know that I would not go for any loan, particularly money matters.

    In fact, I am calling for investors to come everyday. They should come because we do not have the money to turn this place to the Dubai of our dreams.

    The President of Poland raised it in his bilateral talks with our president, the Deputy Governor led a team to Poland again to represent me and they signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Poland.This is an investment of confidence in what we are doing.

    The Executive Council and State House of Assembly must pass a resolution and now the assembly is considering it and when they are through, we are to send it to the federal authorities that will now join it with the requests from all other states and discuss it at the Federal Executive Council level. The Federal Executive Council will now send it to the National Assembly, which must authorize it. The Government of Poland will in turn send it to their parliament.

    Remember that the money they want to bring to invest here must be budgeted for in their country; so, it is a government-to-government arrangement. And the amount is 60 million Euros and not 60 billion Euros and it is not a loan.

    I will not authorise that kind of thing where money that we do not even have is involved; I will not sign that kind of an obligation and be paying back. It is not possible.

     

     

     

     

    If we put our boys and girls there for two or three years, and at the end of it they get a diploma we have given them a meal ticket for life. Bayelsa youths in the school will receive training to enable the state dominate the provision of sea fearers and other maritime specialists in the maritime industry in Nigeria, West Africa and participate actively in the international maritime arena.

    The state will pay commercial rates for its students in the school, and we are hopeful that our youths on graduation will find employment in shipping companies and other marine related institutions worldwide and thus generate foreign remittances into Bayelsa State. This is the only way we believe, the school can generate commercial fees to repay the Tied Aid Credit from the Polish Government.

    Due to the importance of the school, we are very optimistic that the school will be greatly utilized by students from the state, the country and the West African region and beyond. This will generate foreign exchange earnings for the country as well. So that is the way your government thinks.Next year, we will launch the New Yenagoa City Project. It will be from Tombia down to Igbogene and down to Yenaka. We have concluded surveys; it is not just talk. We talk and do. And now you answer me, is it Bayelsa Government money that we will use in developing that place that is going to run into billions of dollars.

    We are going to attract investors; we will go on a roadshow to all the major city capitals, sell our aspirations, that is why the investment we are making in the area of peace is very critical. I want to congratulate all of us for achieving that.

    So if we market that place and somebody says, he wants some hectares to build high rise buildings and he wants me to sign land for him and build 200 roads and so on and that he wants to collect his money in 25 years time from the rent of that place, will I not sign? Of course, I will sign. Because development is here with us; that is the way we are thinking and we need to broaden our perspectives. We may take decisions that people may not understand but we mean well for this state and we love this state and we will do everything to protect your interest.

     

     

  • Bayelsa: Promoters of new PDP in fresh trouble

    Bayelsa: Promoters of new PDP in fresh trouble

    •Police raise panel to investigate Sylva’s aide
    •Dickson denies rising tempers

    TOUGH times await persons promoting the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) in Bayelsa, the state of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    There were indications yesterday that the state government, led by Mr. Seriake Dickson, was determined to continue its crackdown on members of the Kawu Baraje-led faction of the party.

    The governor was said to be acting on security reports that aggrieved politicians intended to destabilise and sponsor violence in the state while hiding under the new PDP.

    As part of the plan to stop the group, the police yesterday raised a panel to investigate the interim chairman of the new PDP, Mr. Richard Kpodo.

    Kpodo was a former Special Adviser to the embattled ex-Governor Timipre Sylva.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hillary Opara, in a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said the police were inundated by complaints from members of the public against Kpodo.

    He said most of the complaints bordered on criminality, adding that an Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Central Investigation Department was appointed to head the panel.

    Referring to the panel as “high-powered investigation committee”, Opara said the panel would look into the various crimes allegedly committed by Kpodo and “members of his syndicate.”

    The police boss demanded cooperation from members of the public, insisting that criminality with impunity would not be allowed in the state.

    The police investigation committee was raised a day after the state government put Kpodo under security watch.

    Kpodo was accused of making inciting statements capable of plunging the state into chaos.

    Dickson in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Danield Iworiso-Markson, said: “Mr. Kpodo had in the last couple of days vigorously pursued his inordinate plans by dishing out deliberate falsehood about the federal and state governments with a view to creating a state of insecurity and disaffection, using the platform of the so-called new PDP, ostensibly to destabilise the home base of Mr. President.

    “Government wishes to remind Bayelsans of the antecedents of Mr. Kpodo and warn vulnerable youths as well as the unsuspecting public to be mindful of this group of disgruntled persons, who are only out to mislead and misinform them as part of their grand design to achieve their selfish motives.”

    Dickson further denied a report that tempers had risen in the state following the activities of the new PDP, describing it as regrettable, misleading and embarrassing.

    He said such report was totally at variance with the real state of affairs on ground, especially as the state had consistently been rated as one of the most peaceful states in the country.

    He said the most recent of such ratings came from the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police, Zone 5, Mr. Hashimu Aliyu Argungu, during his visit to the State earlier in the week.

  • How we escaped from collapsed building in Bayelsa, varsity workers

    WORKERS at the collapsed three-storey lecture theatre at the permanent site of the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Amasoma, Bayelsa State, yesterday said they owed their survival to divine intervention.

    At least 50 construction workers were said to have escaped death when the building which had got to its third floor caved in on Thursday afternoon.

    But one of the workers was said to be unlucky as he sustained critical injuries while trying to escape from the site of the crumbling edifice.

    The injured victim identified simply as a mason was reportedly rushed to an undisclosed clinic for medical attention.

    The three-storey building was a proposed lecture theatre at the permanent site of the NDU.

    Some of the construction workers identified one Mike as the engineer in charge of the building.

    One of the workers, Mr. Fortune Oyii, attributed their escape to divine intervention, saying he would go and give testimonies in church.

    He said God made it possible for a concrete mixer hitherto in good condition to stop working.

    “We were supposed to be working on the building but the concrete mixer suddenly stopped working. There was nothing wrong with it but it packed up. We did everything we could to make it work but it refused.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Bayelsa’ll be a tourism destination’

    ‘Bayelsa’ll be a tourism destination’

    The Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Sieriake Dickson, has said his administration fashion out a policy to make the state a tourism destination through the Bayelsa State Tourism Development Agency.

    The Governor, who spoke at the 36th World Tourism Day (WTD) celebrations last Friday, at the Ox-Bow Lake, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, disclosed his administration’s readiness to explore the tourism option for economic growth, having realised that the sector had been dormant in the state.

    He noted that his administration has been building and developing tourist centres, which have started attracting a lot of people to the state.

    On this year’s WTD theme, Tourism and water: protecting our common future, Governor Dickson, who was represented by his deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), noted that the theme was geared towards creating the awareness on the need for sustainable clear water, its accessibility in the present and in the future for all mankind, because water is an essential component of humanity.

    He added that his administration had initiated talks on partnership with the Federal Government and the private sector to see how to provide potable water to all residents in the state and that the talks has been yielding positive results.

    Earlier, Governor Dickson noted that Bayelsa, has among others things, a thriving petroleum sector, a large fishing industry, a developing tourism sector, and a growing private sector, adding that the state had beautiful beaches, mangrove forests, rivers, creeks and islands; therefore, it is building on these natural resources advantages to take its pride of place among the economic stories of Nigeria.

    He explained that his administration has built an Institute of Tourism, Catering and Hotel Management to train professionals that will help in driving the tourism sector in the state and that the institute would be inaugurated soon.

    Minister for Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, in his remark, appreciated the Governor for hosting WTD and building the Institute of Hospitality and Tourism in the state, noting that the event is aimed at fostering awareness in the international community on tourism’s social, cultural and economic values in the affairs of nations, adding that water is part of life and tourism itself is life, contributing significantly to the world’s economy and that billions of people travel around the world for the sake of tourism.

    The Minister further commended the State for her pace-setting role as a forerunner in the promotion of culture and tourism in Nigeria, recalling that Bayelsa State just hosted a grade “A” National Festival of Arts & Culture (NAFEST), which had raised the stakes in the hosting of the national cultural fiesta, tagged, “the unity forum.”

    He acknowledged that the state is endowed with many tourism potentials, maintaining that the collaboration between his ministry and the state is very robust, and urged the state to keep the pace of its strategic approach in developing the tourism sector.

    It would be recalled that the United Nations (UN) has set aside the 27th of September every year for member countries to mark the World Tourism Day celebration; and the first of such celebration was marked in 1980, following the Manila Declaration on World Tourism.

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