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Tag: Bayelsa

  • Bayelsa urges hospitals to key into its Health Insurance Scheme

    Bayelsa urges hospitals to key into its Health Insurance Scheme

    Bayelsa Government has urged health institutions in the state to key into the Health Insurance Scheme being packaged for workers and people of the state.

    The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, spoke on Wednesday in Yenagoa at a one-day sensitisation and interactive session with doctors on the implementation of the scheme.

    The commissioner enjoined medical doctors to deploy their wealth of experience to ensure that the scheme succeeds, noting that the state government places high premium on its implementation.

    Dr Zuoboemi Agadah, Executive Secretary of the Bayelsa State Health Insurance Scheme, explained the workings of the scheme.

    He said that the scheme was not meant to maximise profit, but to ensure equitable distribution of health care cost among low and high income earners.

    Agadah noted that the level of contributions to the scheme by enrollees was not determined by the health risk of individuals, but their ability to pay.

    He said though the scheme was compulsory for all public servants in the state, corporate organisations with not less than 10 employees and voluntary contributors could key into the scheme.

    The executive secretary added that registration of health facilities for the scheme had commenced, and urged interested health care providers to collect registration forms.

    He explained that the forms were available at the Bayelsa Health Insurance Schemes office, near Government House, Yenagoa.

  • Bayelsa ministry decries low local govt revenue

    The Bayelsa Ministry of Local Government Administration on Wednesday decried the dwindling revenue accruing to the councils, resulting in their inability to pay workers’ salaries.

    Commissioner for Local Government Administration Dr Agatha Goma told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that local government workers were being owed nine and half months salaries.

    Goma, in a statement on Wednesday, said the state had received from the Federal Account, the sum of N1.11 billion accruing to the eight local governments for the month of June 2017.

    According to her, the money is insufficient for the councils to meet their salary obligations to local government.

    “After the statutory deductions of N70 million for pensions, staff training, and bailout repayments of N16.28 million, the net allocation amounts to N1.02 billion.

    “With a local government workers’ salary bill of N609.17 million and primary school staff salary of N648.73 million, amounting to N1.26 billion, there will be a shortfall of about N233.2 million.

    “This means that without some assistance/support, the June 2017 federal allocation to the councils will not be able to pay the salaries of workers.

    “This also means that there will be no funds available even to administer the local governments. This has been the plight of the local governments since 2014, wherein the allocations have been far less than the wage bills.”

    The commissioner noted that persistent shortfalls had continued in spite of the intervention efforts by the present administration.

    The intervention, she said, included civil service reforms and other policies aimed at addressing the huge wage bills and other fiscal challenges.

    She applauded Governor Seriake Dickson for non-interference in the local government funds in the state and all the support he had provided in the form of policies, administrative guidelines and financial bailouts.

    The national headquarters of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in June listed Bayelsa as the most indebted of 23 states with 16 months’ salary backlog.

    NULGE National President, Mr Ibrahim Khaleel, alleged that Bayelsa owed between 10 months and 16 months while Kogi owed between seven months and 15 months.

  • Paris Club refunds: Bayelsa and imperative of Transparency Briefing

    Paris Club refunds: Bayelsa and imperative of Transparency Briefing

    When the Federal Ministry of Finance introduced the publication of funds allocated to various tiers of government, it was designed to let the public know the resources available to government at all levels.

    The publication of funds allocated to states from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee was also meant to promote transparency and avoid rumour mongering as one cannot expect government to perform beyond its finances.

    Unfortunately, that policy was not adopted by many states, thereby creating crisis of confidence, especially when state governments claim that they cannot fulfil some obligations because of paucity of funds.

    However, the recent publication of money received by each state of the federation by the Federal Ministry of Finance under the Paris Club Refund had generated controversies.

    Though the controversy cut across all the states of the federation, in the oil rich Bayelsa, the government had to brief the people on the true situation.

    There were conflicting figures on what was published by the Federal Ministry of Finance and what the Bayelsa Government said it received.

    The figure published by the Federal Ministry of Finance showed that Bayelsa received N24.895 billion, while the Bayelsa Government said it received N21.168 billion.

    The Deputy Governor of the state, retired Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah, who addressed the issue during the Transparency Briefing in April, said the state received N14.5 billion in November last year out of the N21.168 billion due to the state for the first tranche of the Paris Club refund.

    The deputy governor, however, disclosed the receipt of additional N6.61 billion in the month of March, as the balance of the N21.168 billion, out of which N1.9 billion was released to the local government councils.

    His words: “The Paris Club refund to states is not a gift from the Federal Government to pay salaries; it is state governments’ money that was deducted without consulting the states. At a meeting, it was decided that the money should be paid in two installments.

    “A chart was drawn up and the entitlements of every state were written. But, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria decided to pay the money in four installments that is 25 per cent at a time.

    “When the first 25 per cent was paid, Bayelsa ought to get N21.168 billion, but then, when the money came, they only released N14.5 billion to us.

    “ The first tranche was supposed to have been N21.168 billion. But again, the N14.5 billion was not for the state government alone because out of the amount, N1.3 billion was for the local government councils. So, what actually came to the state government was N13.2 billion.’’

    The deputy governor also said that the state recorded N1.13 billion as its internally generated revenue in March 2017 as against N983 million declared in February, attributing the increase to deliberate efforts to beef up the revenue base of the state.

    He said the government would sustain the current drive, particularly in the area of wooing investors to boost the revenue.

    As a result of public outcry after the release of states’ shares from the Paris Club refund, governors have pledged to judiciously spend the second tranche recently approved by Acting- President Yemi Osinbajo.

    A statement by the Nigerian Governors Forum said all the 36 governors made the pledge at a recent meeting held at the Abuja residence of Gov. Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara.

    Mr Bello Barkindo, the governor’s spokesman in a statement, said the governors met in anticipation of the release of the money approved by vice-president.

    “The governors met in anticipation of the release of the other half of the Paris-London Club refund which has been gratuitously approved for payment by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the funds are expected to hit the states accounts within the month.

    “We all agreed that a substantial amount from the next tranche of the Paris-London refunds be used in the settlement of workers salary and pension arrears,” Barkindo quoted Yari as saying after the meeting.

    Also, ahead of the release of the second tranche, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC ) had enlisted the support of anti-graft agencies to ensure judicious use of the funds.

    The TUC President, Bobboi Kaigama, said that the union had involved the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe states which defaulted in using the disbursements to pay workers.

    “We have asked the ICPC and the EFCC to probe those states; we already called for their probe. The call we made to the EFCC and ICPC is not only for the first tranche, but subsequent tranches; the agencies and the TUC have been interacting well on the probe.

    “We are working with the Federal Government which directed that the fund be used first for the payment of arrears and pensions before the states do anything else. So if the states do anything else, it would be contrary to the directive.

    “We have been liaising with the anti-corruption agencies to make sure that they follow these disbursements. We also asked our TUC state levels to monitor the disbursements,’’ Kaigama said.

    Similarly, the NLC Secretary Peter Ozo-Eson said, “We have involved the anti-corruption agencies.

    “From the first bailout, we partnered the ICPC to monitor the funds and we expect this to continue.

    “Our directive to the NLC state councils is to also monitor the funds and ensure that the payment of arrears of salaries and pensions take priority.’’

    In the light of this, analysts commend the Bayelsa Government, observing that it is not surprising that the state government took time to address the controversies associated with the Paris Club refund.

    They also note that regular briefings on state finances are already part of government’s policy.

    They observe further that Governor Seriake Dickson, during his first tenure in office in February 2012, adopted the monthly publication of state finances by introducing the Transparency Briefing.

    An executive bill, The Bayelsa Transparency Initiative Bill, was then passed by the Bayelsa House of Assembly to provide legal backing to the policy.

    The Transparency Law makes it mandatory for the governor or his representative to make public on a monthly basis, the financial standing of the state.

    Dickson insists that he introduced the briefing because the people have the right to know about the affairs of government.

    “On transparency, we believe that it is the right of the people of the state to know what funds accrue to the coffers of the state and the various local government councils and how they are utilised.

    “This is the only way to secure the trust and confidence of the people in whom sovereignty lies.

    “I have directed all local government chairmen to comply with this paradigm shift on the issue of transparency, probity and accountability to reflect the new Bayelsa we are building.

    “The government also widened the scope of access to public perusal of government’s income and expenditure by introducing a website, Bayelsa Watch,’’ he said.

    While inaugurating Bayelsa Watch, Mr Jonathan Obuebite, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, said: “It is specially dedicated for the publishing of government’s income and expenditure profile, including the Federation Account Allocation Committee receipts and other monthly deductions.

    “When this administration came on board, precisely Feb. 14, 2012, it introduced the monthly Transparency Briefing, which was the first of its kind in the country.

    “The sole aim was to intimate people and the world at large with government’s earnings and spending, including award of contracts.

    “As a responsible and responsive government, we have decided to take a step further with the launching of our website, so that people can take advantage of it and scrutinise our financial records in line with our transparency and accountability policy.

    “The introduction of the website is aimed at letting the people know that there is absolutely nothing to hide.

    “And this effort of ours will definitely shut down the rumour mill factory trailing government finances for some time now.’’

    He noted that the Transparency Briefing was meant to showcase the state government’s transparency and accountability policy.

    Stakeholders, nonetheless, note that although the Bayelsa Government has publicly made it known what it received from the Paris Club refund, the onus is on the authority that published the figures to dispute the claim.

    They also advise other state governments to emulate Bayelsa and brief their people monthly on their finances for transparency and accountability.

    • Ukoh is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
  • Bayelsa approves N2bn counterpart funds for SUBEB, SDG

    Bayelsa approves N2bn counterpart funds for SUBEB, SDG

    The Bayelsa Government says it has approved the release of N2billion counterpart funds to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the approval was given by State Executive Council at its 77th meeting at the government house in Yenagoa.

    Mr Jonathan Obuebite, the state’s Commissioner for Information, said shortly after the meeting that the release of the funds was in line with the government’s commitment to improving the standard of education and empowering youths in the area.

    “’SUBEB and SDGs will each get N1billion,” he said.

    Obuebite further said the approved sum as resolved in the executive council would take care of the state’s share of the counterpart funds and other developmental projects.

    “With the approval of N1billion, most of the on-going projects, especially at the primary education sector are expected to be completed.

    “Also with the sole aim of beautifying the Ox-bow Lake, Council also looked into the dredging activities at the Ox-bow Lake and has called on all owners of dredgers within that vicinity to immediately move out.

    “This is a follow up of the notice sent out by the ministry of environment to all operators within the environment.

    “Council announced the commencement of the fencing project that is billed to commence immediately at the Ox-bow Lake for security reasons,” Obuebite said.

    He further explained that the council agreed to encourage Bayelsa people to take advantage of the free boarding school facilities provided by the government with five of its kind already in session.

    According to him, in July, the sports academy in the state will become fully operational as directed by the governor.

    Reacting to the allegation by the Association of Local Government Employees that Bayelsa was the most indebted state to local council workers having failed to pay up to 16 months salary, Obuebite said the state owed only nine months.

    “No LGA is owing more than 9 months’ salary except Ogbia that is owing 10 months arrears.

    “But modalities are being worked out to off-set the backlog of salary arrears.

    “The said publication (allegation) lacks fact as the situation on ground is different,” he said.

  • Protest as IYC faction takes over secretariat in Bayelsa 

    A faction of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide led by Mr. Oweilaemi Pereotubo, yesterday, took over the National Secretariat of the council in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    Some officials of the state government led by a former Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, Dr. Felix Tuodolor, led the Pereotubo council of IYC to the secretariat and handed the building over to them.

    But the faction led by Mr. Eric Omare, protested the development saying it smacked of illegality and urged Ijaw youths to disregard the handover.

    Succession crisis has crippled the IYC as the two factions fight over the leadership of the council.

    A committee set up by Governor Seriake Dickson to resolve the crisis chose the Pereotubo-led faction but Omare and his executive committee rejected the decision describing it as premeditated and unconstitutional.

    In a statement shortly after the secretariat was handed over to the Pereotubo faction, Omare described the “purported handover a display of mockery of the IYC constitution and processes”.

    He said: “For the records, the immediate past President of the IYC, Udengs Eradiri had handed over the leadership of the IYC to Eric Omare since March, 2017.

    “And it is customary in the IYC just like similar organisations for the immediate past President and leader to hand over to his successor.   Therefore, what is happening at Ijaw House is nothing but display of impunity and invitation to anarchy.

    “It is important to note that the Felix Tuodolor who is supervising the purported hand over and some former leaders of the IYC are already in court with the Eric Omare-led National Executive Council of the IYC in a suit challenging the legality of the purported Okrika convention called by former leaders of the IYC which produced the factional IYC leadership.

    “Consequently, we call on the Ijaw nation and the general public to disregard the factional leadership which Dr. Tuodolor purportedly handed over to while reiterating our call on Ijaw youths to be peaceful no matter the level of provocation”.

  • Security agencies probe identity of Evans’s gang member in Bayelsa

    Security agencies probe identity of Evans’s gang member in Bayelsa

    Security agencies in Bayelsa State are probing the identity of one Suoyo mentioned by the notorious kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike, aka Evans, as one of his gang members in the state.
    Evans, in one of his numerous confessional statements, named Suoyo as one of the active members of his gang, who had the assignment of buying arms and ammunition, for their operations.
    “When Suoyo, who lives in Bayelsa state, called me and expressed fears, I also assured him that nothing was going to happen. I told him I was making plans for another operation and needed him to go into the creeks and buy a new set of arms and ammunition,” Evans said in an interview.
    But security commanders in Bayelsa were said to have met over the weekend to analyse Evan’s confessional statement to unmask the real identity of Suoyo.
    At the meeting which held in Government House in the presence of Governor Seriake Dickson, the security commanders were said to be certain that that the Suoyo mentioned by Evans was the same person recently arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the state.
    One Suoyo  Dickson was arrested and paraded on Thursday by the state Commandant of NSCDC, Mr. Desmond Agu, in connection with the recent attack on a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
    Suoyo, popularly known as Hustler, reportedly led a gang of vandals that attacked the Agip pipeline at Lagosgbene, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state on May 30, 2017.
    He was, however, arrested on June 16, 2017 at Agbigiba community in Southern Ijaw.
    Suoyo, in his confessional statement, also admitted having some criminal camps in the creeks saying he led an oil and gas task force operating in Southern Ijaw to destroy the camps but became frustrated when the task force failed to reward him.
    On how he attacked the pipeline, Evans said;: ”I used two handsaw blades and handsaw to open up the point, I cut the handle in the valve, I fetched 20 litres of petrol, I lit spark lighter and threw it into the pipe and burnt it.”

    ”I burnt the pipeline because the task force  did not keep to their promise of employing us after making us to show them our bunkering camps and the subsequent destruction by the military.

    ”We showed them our camps, eight of them. All the camps did not belong to me. Three were mine while other groups have five. After showing them, the task force engaged the military to destroy our camps. 

    ”The other groups, whose camps were destroyed were not happy with me. They said I betrayed them and they started planning to kill me and my family members. The situation put me under pressure more so the employment they promised all of us after seven days did not materialize”.
    It was gathered that Agu, after parading the suspect, handed him over to the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe (ODS) for further investigations.
    A security source, who spoke in confidence, said at the meeting of the security commanders in Yenagoa, which was attended by the heads of ODS, the police and NSCDC, it was agreed that Suoyo should be subjected to further investigations.
    Following Evans’ confession, the security heads were said to be linking him to the theft of service rifles of security operatives especially policemen in the state.
    They recalled many attacks on operatives by criminals, who only fled with arms and ammunition handled by their victims.
    “The security heads also agreed to compile a list of such stolen arms and ammunition in the state and send it to the Force Headquarters to know whether they were among the ones  recovered from Evans.
    “The Suoyo mentioned by Evans seems in all ramifications to be the same suspected arrested by the NSCDC recently in connection with attack on a pipeline. The security heads in the state believe so and they will surely carry out further investigations to determine his linkage with the Evans’ gang.
    “Suoyo may be the mastermind of various attacks on security operatives, whose rifles were stolen in the state. They were also killed in the process,” the source said.

  • Bayelsa seals NDDC, firm over N450m tax debt

    BAYELSA State at the weekend sealed off the office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and a firm, Hilong Oil Services and Engineering Company Limited (HOSEC) over tax default amounting to about N450million taxes.

    The NDDC was said to have tax liabilities of N336.17million since 2014 while HOSEC owed N109.5million for about five years.

    The sealing exercise was sequel to an aggressive campaign to increase Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) through enforcement of tax payment.

    The task force of Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) accompanied by armed security operatives drawn from the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) barricaded the premises of the NDDC along the Yenagoa-Mbiama Road on Friday as early as 8am.

    The Director of Compliance, BIR, Robert Lokoson, said the operation was in line with Section 104 of Personal Income Tax (Amendment) 2011 and an ex parte order obtained from the High Court of Bayelsa State.

    He said: ‘’This exercise is part of our efforts to recover tax liabilities from organisations and individuals that are not complying after having obtained the necessary court orders.

    “We are here this morning with a Warrant of Distrain to seal off the property of Niger Delta Development Commission, Yenagoa office, for tax owed the state government to the tune of N336.17m.

    ‘’For the four years, the commission has defaulted in the remittance of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and withholding taxes.

    ‘’Some organisations fail to remit taxes after collecting same from the employees and we have tried over the years after the necessary tax audits to determine the compliance of the remittances or otherwise, yet they have yet to respond.

    ‘’In the case of the NDDC, we have written a lot of letters. About a month ago, we were here on a lighter mood to persuade the management of the NDDC to pay but nothing has been done. So, we had to go to court to obtain the necessary court orders to enforce compliance.’’

    Lokoson said if the commission failed to pay the tax after 14 days, the body would invoke the law and dispose of all the property of the NDDC to recover the debt through the proceeds of sale.’

    It was gathered management employees of the commission were not available during the operation.

    Other workers were not willing to speak on the matter but some employees were seen rejoicing over the development, wondering while the commission could not pay its tax.

  • Revenue board seals NDDC’s office in Yenagoa over N336m tax liability

    Revenue board seals NDDC’s office in Yenagoa over N336m tax liability

    The Bayelsa Board of Internal Revenue (BIR), on Friday sealed off the Bayelsa office of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), over alleged non-remittance of N336million Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax liability.

    The BIR enforcement team served a court order on the staff before they ordered them to leave their offices.

    The Director of Compliance, Mr Robert Lokoson, who led the enforcement team, said the state government took the steps following fruitless efforts made to recover the outstanding tax deducted from workers’ salaries since 2014.

    Lokoson said the operation was part of renewed efforts to boost the internally generated revenue of the state.

    “This operation is part of efforts to recover tax revenue owed to the government by Niger Delta Development Commission and pursuant to Section 104 of Personal Income Tax Law, 2011.

    “The debt has been owed since 2014 and we have written series of letters to them to pay, but no response from them.

    “Four weeks back, we came and persuaded the management of NDDC to pay, but when it became obvious they were not ready to pay, we had to approach the courts to get the orders to seal their office.

    “So, we have to take this last resort of getting court orders, after we had exhausted other options ’’ the director said.

    He said at the expiration of 14 days, if the tax liability was not settled, the revenue board will be compelled to liquidate assets of NDDC to recover the tax debt.

    Meanwhile staff of the NDDC who were forced out of their offices, wondered why the commission could not remit the taxes deducted from their salary.

    The Bayelsa representative on the NDDC board, Prof. Nelson Brambaifa, was not available when the team visited for the tax drive.

  • Chinese investors storm Bayelsa, plan massive investment

    Chinese investors storm Bayelsa, plan massive investment

    A group of Chinese investors have entered into discussion with Governor Seriake Dickson to invest massively in key sectors of the state.

    Their discussion centred on multiple job creation and supporting the government to further provide opportunities for other businesses in the state to grow.

    Leader of the delegation and chairman of Wave Investment, Xue Yuebin, made this known, when the group paid a courtesy call on Dickson at the Government House in Yenagoa.

    The team had spent several days, going round the state to inspect areas of interest for investment and some of the laudable ongoing and completed projects of the state government.

    Yuebin, who is also a senior member of the Communist Party in China expressed optimism that, the entrance of members of the private sector from the Asian country to the state will also help to consolidate the existing relationship between Nigeria and China.

    He thanked the governor for the warm reception accorded them and his efforts in creating an enabling environment to attract investors to the state and for businesses to thrive.

    Dickson appreciated the business delegation for the visit and for showing the zeal to be part of the ongoing revolution in the state’s economy that the government is embarking on.

    The governor used the opportunity to outline the place of Bayelsa, as the new destination for any investor, pointing out that, aside the abundance of natural resources like oil and gas, the state has been adjudged to be one of the safest in the country.

    “We are pleased to have you as a partner to see how we can utilise you to promote prosperity and create jobs. We are working on the Eco-Industrial Park, the land has been acquired, clearing will start almost immediately and we are working with our multi-national partners to see how we can utilise the abundant gas resources right there, convert it to power to generate 24 hours non-stop electricity for the first time in any state in Nigeria.

    All these are to give the investing public from your country and other countries the great opportunity to come to Bayelsa and be located at the Industrial Park with access to everything. Let me add that being in Bayelsa captures the entire Nigeria market and even beyond because Bayelsa is at the heart of the gulf of Guinea,” he said.

    The Chief Economic Adviser to the governor, Duate Iyabi, explained the reason for the visit and highlighted areas of interest for investment by the visiting team, as well as the desire of manufacturers of BMW automobiles to setup a market to sell their cars at relatively cheap prices.

    Other members of the team are, Robert Kermanshaitche, Ma Guoxing, Ai Lian, and Adam Yang.

  • Anchor Borrowers’ Programme: Bayelsa advises farmers to shun middlemen

    Anchor Borrowers’ Programme: Bayelsa advises farmers to shun middlemen

    The Bayelsa Government has cautioned farmers against the activities of middlemen who extort money from them to enable them to participate in the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

    Mrs Helen Ajuwa, the Managing Director of Bayelsa Agriculture Development Company (BADC), gave the advice in Yenagoa on Sunday against the allegation that some middlemen were taking advantage of farmers.

    Ajuwa said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that some middlemen were floating fictitious cooperative societies soliciting membership from farmers wishing to get agriculture loan.

    She advised farmers to avoid such persons as their actions were fraudulent.

    Ajuwa said that the activities of middlemen who extort money from farmers were illegal as no fee was required to access agricultural credit under the programme.

    “It has come to our knowledge that the rate at which illegal agricultural cooperatives exhort money from unsuspecting farmers in the state in the guise to help them secure loan is on the increase.

    “Based on the state government’s policy for giving agricultural loans, no farmer needs to pay a dime to access any Federal Government loan,” Ajuwa said.

    According to her, the state recently keyed into the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme targeted at 2,000 real fish and cassava farmers in the first phase in 2017.

    Ajuwa advised farmers to consult BADC before applying for agriculture loans in order not to fall prey to fraudsters who were bent on extorting from them.

    She explained that all fish and cassava farmers needed to do to be registered was to provide land for their farms.

    According to her, BADC will take off from that point by clearing the land, provide cassava stems, fertilisers, herbicides and little grant for farm management.

    Ajuwa said the state government had set up a strategy to ensure that only genuine farmers benefited from the programme through verification.

    She said some farmers had complained of cases of fraud, extortion and ghost beneficiaries of loan, hence the advice.