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Tag: Bayelsa

  • Bayelsa: Shark in democratic waters

    When elections are afoot, it is the wrong time to contemplate a shark. Especially in a riverine area. A shark in democratic waters? That is how Seriake Dickson has characterised himself in the Bayelsa State governorship sweepstakes billed to be concluded Saturday. If, that is, the self-confessed shark does not tumble into the serenity of the proceedings.

    Remember what Dickson did in the elections the last time. The Shark was uncharacteristically shivering during the polls. He rode in a boat to the contentious Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, campaigning that the elections should not take place. He started to constitute himself into the paragon of the Ijaw nation.

    He contended that violence was going to stop the election in southern Ijaw. So, when the elections took place in other local governments, he campaigned that it be cancelled only in Southern Ijaw. But violence ravaged Nembe and Ekeremor local government areas. He was silent over those because he was declared winner. He did not see anything wrong when video showed how thugs barreled into the home of the chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Ekeremor. Heineken Lokpobri is also the minister of state for agriculture. Walls cracked and fell. Windows were broken. Pockmarks defaced the façade of the house. But elections were not cancelled there.

    In southern Ijaw that warehouses the great chunk of the votes in the state, the election was seen as ominous. Dickson saw to it that it was cancelled, while other polls held. The rescheduled elections continued, and Dickson defied the electoral law and began to campaign not as a governorship candidate, but as an Ijaw nationalist. He became an Nnamdi Kanu of Yenagoa. He went on radio to rally the citizens to go to the streets to protest. His party denizens organised themselves and obeyed the clarion call of subversion, in spite of the police counter-statement. He had constituted himself into a law. He disdained the constitution. Sharks, of, course, have no respect for any territory.

    Yet, Dickson had his way. The elections were cancelled again. The video beamed on television showed a bedlam of jubilation in Dickson’s home. Without his vintage hat and walking stick, and sitting in morose expectation, the news leapt into the room. And baldhead and new excitement became Dickson as his supporters besieged him on his table of despondency. He rose with his supporters and voices clashed with voices as the crowd turned giddy first with relief and then exhilaration.

    Why? Because they knew it was bad news if the election results were announced. The shark was suddenly coy and afraid to roam the waters in its predatory majesty. This week, though, he has turned himself into the viceroy of Ijaw. He started a website called savetheijawnation.com. He sees himself as the father and the successor of Alams, as if Timipre Sylva and other contestants come from somewhere else.

    We hope the shark will not be allowed by the security forces this time to obstruct proceedings on Saturday. The Resident Electoral Commissioner has shown enough partisanship, and he must not be allowed to act with impunity again. We want the election results to be the right one. Neither sharks nor former president’s votaries should be allowed to interfere with the inviolate purity of the people’s voice.

  • Tension in Bayelsa over rerun poll

    Tension in Bayelsa over rerun poll

    There is tension in Bayelsa State as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) prepare for the rerun governorship poll in Southern Ijaw Local Government. Will the election be peaceful, free and fair? Corrrespondent MIKE ODIEGWU examines the conditions that will quarantee a credible poll.

    Last year ended with failed expectations in Bayelsa State. The governorship election was declared inconclusive in controversial circumstances. Therefore, the hope of a new governor-elect will be inaugurated on February 14, was dashed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Now, there are mixed feelings in the state, considering the events that characterised the disputed December 5 and 6 elections. The elections were bloody. Violence swept across the local government areas as brazen public display of brigandage, thuggery, hijack of electoral materials by party loyalists marred the entire process.

    Despite the violence, INEC declared results in seven local government areas, but failed to announce the results of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which has 425 polling units and 120,827 voting population, the second largest concentration of voters after Yenagoa Local Government Area.

    Though the governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Seriake Dickson, led his closest rival and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva, with 33,150 votes, he was unsettled as the state waited for the results from Southern Ijaw.

    On December 6, last year, when the rescheduled poll in Southern Ijaw was billed to hold, the governor, who kicked against the decision of INEC and security officials to go ahead with the polls despite the gun battle that marred the process on December 5, took some steps interpreted to be against the electoral process  to register his displeasure.

    Dickson, who hails from Sagbama Local Government Area, visited Oporoma, the headquarters of Southern Ijaw, in the morning of the election, a move that was condemned by the Operation Safe Conduct (SFC), a special military squad in charge of monitoring the poll.

    The governor was said to have stormed Amassoma, one of the communities in Southern Ijaw with high voting strength. But, he was stopped from entering the community. Dickson summoned residents of the state to protest election in Southern Ijaw and went on live broadcast to condemn the exercise at a time, collation of results was ongoing in Yenagoa.

    The PDP defended the action of the governor asserting that, as the Chief Security Officer of the state he reserved the exclusive rights to visit any troubled spot in the state at any time. The party also launched a tirade against the army describing its role in the election as ignoble.

    Following pressure on INEC officials especially, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Baritor Kpagir, the result of Southern Ijaw, being expected at the collation centre, a day after the election had ended, was cancelled.

    The cancellation opened a can of worms with the APC and its candidate threatening fire and brimstone. Allegations and counter allegations of bribery and compromise trailed the cancellation. Against the backdrop of the hullabaloo, INEC held an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting where it was decided that a rerun would hold in Southern Ijaw on January 9.

    Curiously, the stakeholders agreed that other polling units where elections could not hold should undergo fresh poll. Therefore, on January 9, there will be elections in Southern Ijaw, which some persons had described as Bayelsa California and other polling units.

    Implications of the rerun

    Apart from Southern Ijaw, elections will hold in 112 polling units in six out of the seven local government areas where results had already been declared. All the units have a total registered voters of 36,663. This is aside Southern Ijaw that has a total voting population of 120,827.

    Therefore, there are about 157,490 votes for grabs on January 9 depending on the number of collected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and turnout of voters. Southern Ijaw is said to have about 100,000 collected PVCs following the last continuous voter registration exercise. Pundits believe that the election is not over yet.

    The forthcoming poll has positive and negative implications for both Dickson and Sylva. The margin of victory of the governor and the PDP could either be closed or widened. The governor stands a chance of either extending his lead in six out of the seven councils he won or losing some of the local government areas to Sylva and the APC.

     

    Local government indicators

    Ogbia: based on results already declared by INEC, Dickson is leading Sylva in Ogbia the local government area of former President Goodluck Jonathan. While Dickson and the PDP polled 13,051 votes, Sylva and the APC scored 9,106, a marginal difference of 3,945 votes.

    But, on January 9, the supplementary election will hold in 27 polling units in Ogbia with a voting population of 5,816 votes. Following reports that the units are the stronghold of APC, the reason they elections there were allegedly cancelled in the first place, Sylva stands a chance of reclaiming the council and dislodging it from the grips of Dickson. But pundits argue that it will be difficult since the PDP is also prepared to win votes in the polling units.

    Yenagoa: Elections will hold in 16 polling units which have about 8,383 registered voters. Observers’ calculations show that the APC can only narrow the lead of PDP since the number of votes to be contested are less than the margin of difference between the PDP and the APC.

    In Yenagoa, PDP scored 24,258 votes against the APC, which got 14,563 votes, a difference of 9,695 votes. So, even if all the voters have PVCs and decide to cast their votes for APC, the party will only succeed in closing the gap of PDP’s lead. It is, therefore, no longer possible for APC to win Yenagoa even if it defeats PDP by landslide in the supplementary poll. But PDP with its determined candidate will also contest seriously for the votes in the polling units.

    Ekeremor: This is the home of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri. Ex-militants and hired thugs from outside the state besieged his house on December 5, held him hostage with gunfire and substantially disrupted elections in the council. His house was riddled with bullets. But he escaped by the whiskers.

    The council has the largest concentration of cancelled votes. On January 9, there will be a rerun in 44 polling units which have about 13,910 votes. APC stands a greater chance of reclaiming the council from PDP and closing overall vote difference if it could win by landslide.

    In the results already declared, the PDP scored 14,602 votes to defeat the APC which polled 7,918, a difference of 6,684 votes. Therefore, APC will be gunning to grab substantial number of the votes to topple the PDP which is also not resting in its oars.

    Nembe: Elections will hold in 13 polling units in Nembe which has about 4,294 votes. The outcome of the December election showed that PDP scored 10,764 votes to win the APC which got 6,974 votes, a difference of 3,790 votes.

    It will, however, be difficult for APC to claim the council since the deputy Governor of the state, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) hails from the area. But the APC members said the polling units are their stronghold in the council.

    Brass and Sagbama: these are two extreme cases. While the APC won Brass, the Local Government Area of Sylva by landslide polling 21,755 to defeat the PDP which scored only 6,512; the PDP won Sagbama, the local government area of Dickson, with whopping 28,934 votes to win the APC which could only boast of 5,382 votes.

    While the APC will be aiming to secure more votes in the six polling units with 2255 registered voters, where elections will hold in Brass; the PDP will be struggling to secure the remaining 2005 votes in six polling units where the poll will also hold in Sagbama.

    Kolokuma/Opokuma: There will be no election in Kolokuma/Opokuma because the election in the area where the PDP won the APC with only 700 votes was adjudged peaceful. No polling unit was cancelled.

    Southern Ijaw: This the deciding local government area. It is more crucial to the APC than the PDP. It is the reason why the election in the state was declared inconclusive. The APC claims that the area is its strongest zone. The running mate to Sylva, Elder Wilberforce Igiri and the party’s Chairman, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe hail from Southern Ijaw.

    Therefore, the APC believes that the area will produce the number of votes it needs to defeat the governor. The party contended that if the result of the December 6 election it got from the area had been announced, it would have won the PDP.

    But, the PDP also boasts that the zone is its stronghold. It contends that nothing will stop it from winning the council since the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Kombowei Benson, is from there. Besides, the party said other members of the House of Assembly from the area and all the appointees of the governor in the area will helps it to secure victory in the council. So, it is a battle royale in the council on January 9.

     

    Party strategies

    Analysts believe that the APC will, misfire if it concentrates only on Southern Ijaw and ignores other polling units where election will hold. For APC to make an impact, every vote, no matter where it is located, matters. Therefore, the party may be exploring strategies of denying PDP votes not just in Southern Ijaw but also in other local government areas.

    On the other hand, PDP does not need additional votes to win Sylva. If the status quo ante remains, the PDP will definitely cruise home to victory. So, the party may also be exploring possible ways of discouraging voters from coming out on January 9. Other pundits also argue that the PDP should use everything it has to contest for votes and extend its lead on January 9.

     

    Tension

    The APC and PDP have been living like cat and mouse, ahead of the supplementary poll. Their utterances have heightened tension. For instance, the APC raised the alarm on alleged importation of thugs by the PDP.

    The APC said it was disheartening that the PDP and Dickson, were still disposed to violence after using over 5000 imported thugs to disorganise the December 5 and 6 poll.

    The party in a statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity, the Sylva-Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO), Chief Nathan Egba, called on the people of the state to hold Dickson accountable for any breakdown of law and order.

    Egba insisted that Dickson allegedly brought large numbers of non-Bayelsans into the state ahead of the poll.

    He said: “Already, we have it on good authority that Governor Dickson and his PDP agents have again started bringing these thugs into the State ahead of the January 9th 2016 re-run in Southern Ijaw LGA and other polling units in six local government areas to repeat what they did on December 5 and 6.

    “We have been informed that some strange-looking faces are being seen in some rural communities of Southern Ijaw, while some have been camped in different hotels in Amarata, Swali and Tombia areas of Yenagoa”.

    “We wish to call on the security agencies in the state to step up their intelligence and track down all those plotting to cause mayhem in the re-run with a view to compromising the election through massive rigging.”

    Egba urged Dickson to live up to the expectation of the Bayelsa by performing his most basic responsibility of ensuring the security of lives and property instead of hounding perceived political enemies.

    But, the PDP denied the allegations and accused the APC of making fresh plans to rig the rescheduled election in Southern Ijaw LGA. The PDP also reiterated its earlier position that the same desperation resulted in abuse respectable federal institutions during the aborted election.

    The party through a statement issued by the Director of Publicity, Restoration Campaign Organisation, Jonathan Obuebite, said the APC had still not learnt any lessons from the last incident.

    Obuebite claimed that the PDP uncovered fresh plans to rig at all cost even when it was glaring that there is no way the APC could possibly win the poll.

    He said: “APC have still not learnt their lessons as they are hell-bent on using the same federal institutions to rig the rescheduled Southern Ijaw election even when it is so glaring that there is no way the APC  could possibly win. Sylva’s desperation to win at all cost even when the odds are clearly against him having been roundly rejected by the people is curious”.

    Also, ahead of the poll,  the police summoned ex-militant leaders and supporters of the APC to their command in Yenagoa, the state capital. The summon generated tension in the state especially as the ex-militants refused to honour the invitation.

    The police in a copy of the invitation letter dated December 31, 2015 and sent to one of the ex-militant leaders, Eris Paul, popularly known as Ogunboss, asked the former agitators to appear on January 4.

    The meeting was summoned by the police command through the office of the State Intelligence Bureau led by Deputy Superitendent of Police (DSP), Ondo Gbekumo. The letter emphasized that the attendance to the meeting was compulsory.

    It said: “?The attendance to the meeting by ex-militant leaders is mandatory as issues bothering on threat to security on the January 9 election will be discussed.”

    The letter was also sent to Africanus Ukparisia popularly called General Africa who was known to have supported President Muhammadu Buhari in the region during the 2015 Presidential election.

    But, the ex-militant leaders accused the state police command of bias and partisan loyalty to the PDP. They called for the overhaul of the present structure of the state police insisting that as presently constituted the state police lacked the discipline to ensure a free and fair election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Council.

    Besides they argued that Gbekumo who signed the invitation letter is an apologist and relation of the PDP candidate and governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    “When did we become members of the state security agencies to be invited to security meeting? Nothing annoys me so much as receiving the invitation from a relative of Governor Seriake,Ondo Gbekumo”, Oguboss said.

    Stakeholders demand redeployment of REC, others

    Following allegations of partisanship and bribery against the Kpagir and other state INEC officials who conducted the botched elections, some stakeholders have called for their redeployment before the supplementary election. A group of lawyers, after conducting a legal clinic presented a strong argument while Kpagir and his team should not be allowed to conduct the election.

    The lawyers said INEC would fail neutrality test if it allowed personnel that conducted the December 5 inconclusive election to carry out the rerun poll on January 9.

    They said their findings revealed that the current composition of INEC in Bayelsa would not guarantee a free and fair rerun poll.  The report of the clinic was signed by the General Counsel, Legal Clinic for Development and Democracy (LCDD), B. B. Bamigboye.

    The lawyers urged the commission to redeploy Kpagir and other principal officers since they were no longer neutral as required by the Electoral Act.

    Bamigboye observed that the two leading candidates, Sylva and Dickson publicly disputed the results in local government areas where they allegedly lost.

    He said despite the dispute, INEC declared winners in seven out of the eight local government areas but aligned with the PDP to cancel the results in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area citing violence.

    He said while the APC and a group of observers opposed the reason for canceling the election, the PDP had continued to defend the INEC officials responsible for the cancellation. Bamigboye also recalled that the REC allegedly issued a statement claiming he was offered money to rig the election and that his life was under threat.

    He said though the party that offered the REC money had been a subject of speculation, INEC leadership had yet to uphold the neutrality contained in its enabling statute following plethora of petitions, allegations and counter allegations involving its officials.

     

     

    He said the statute required INEC to redeploy politically exposed officials and to detail new personnel to conduct the supplementary elections in Southern Ijaw and other units across the state.

    He said: “Whilst Electoral Act does not confer locus standi on voters in election tribunal, the right to vote and be voted for is now under threat due to INEC’s inability to demonstrate commitment to neutrality.

     

    “When we juxtapose the foregoing facts with section 28 of the electoral Act 2010, we must of necessity demand a reasonable degree of legal rectitude from INEC.”

    Quoting section 18.28 of the Electoral Act, he said: “(1) All staff appointed by the Commission taking part in the conduct of anelection shall affirm or swear before the High Court an Oath of neutrality asin the Second Schedule to this Act.

    “(2) All Electoral Officers, PresidingOfficers, Returning Officers and all staff appointed by the Commission takingpart in the conduct of an election shall affirm or swear an oath of loyalty andneutrality indicating that they would not accept bribe or gratification fromany person, and shall perform their functions and duties impartially and in theinterest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without fear or favor.”

    He averred that based on admittance of the REC, the neutrality of INEC in Bayelsa was legally questionable.

    He said: “Can it be said that in the exercise of its discretion, INEC officials complied with Section 28of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended)? Are we supposed to embark upon a voyage of discovery in order to ascertain the culprits cited by the REC from the outcome of the results so far and that of January 9th, 2016?

    “Does the controversy surrounding allegation of the REC amounts to INEC’s descent into the arena of dispute? What is the rule when an arbiter such as INEC is publicly challenged on its acts or omissions occasioning its decent to the arena of dispute?

    “If the complainants accuse one another as culprits are we not bound by rule of law to give fair hearing to the complainants through neutral parties? Are there no neutral persons in INEC whose decisions will not be fettered by the current encumbrances of bias, prejudice, mistrust and ill-will?

    “Is INEC itself conscious of the principles upon which its functions are weighed – whether in the court of public opinion or in courts of justice?

    “Where instruments of human rights and democracy which flow from international comity are violated, are citizens entitled to redress through the respective agencies of government?

    “We have a pending case in this area at the Federal High Court Abuja (Bamigboye Vs INEC, PDP and APC FHC/ABJ/CS/234/2015).”

    He added: “The foregoing questions point to one fundamental principle, to wit neutrality. It is settled law that: where the same reasons exist, the same laws prevail, and of things similar, the judgment is similar. (Ubi eadem ratio, ibi eadem lex; et de similibus idem est judicium).

    “Applying this principle of law, INEC must conduct its business with the same level of observable neutrality as we have in all adjudicatory processes. A judge who has his reputation to protect does not hesitate to recuse himself.

     

    “INEC as constituted in Bayelsa can no longer apply section 28 of the Electoral Act given the public declaration of the REC and the attendant dispute in which, as of his legal right, he is now a proper party.

     

    “The parties including the concerned INEC officials are now entitled to reliefs that can only be afforded by submission to good offices of neutral persons and officials at this stage.”

    END.

     

  • Lawyers to INEC: allow neutral workers to conduct Bayelsa rerun

    Lawyers to INEC: allow neutral workers to conduct Bayelsa rerun

    Lawyers have said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will fail neutrality test if it allows those who conducted the December 5 “inconclusive” election in Bayelsa State to handle the rerun on January 9.

    The lawyers, who conducted legal clinic on Bayelsa election with civil society groups, said their findings revealed that the current composition of INEC in Bayelsa State would not guarantee a free and fair rerun.

    The report of the clinic was signed by the General Counsel, Legal Clinic for Development and Democracy (LCDD), B. B. Bamigboye.

    The lawyers urged INEC to redeploy the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Baritor Kpagir, as well as other principal officers since they were no longer neutral, as required by the Electoral Act.

    Bamigboye noted that the two leading candidates – Chief Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – publicly disputed the results in local government areas they allegedly lost.

    He said despite the dispute, INEC declared winners in seven of the eight local government areas but aligned with the PDP to cancel the results in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, citing violence.

    He said while the APC and a group of observers opposed the reason for cancelling the election, the PDP continued to defend the INEC officials responsible for the cancellation.

    Bamigboye recalled that the REC allegedly issued a statement, claiming he was offered money to rig the election and that his life was under threat.

    The lawyer said though the party that offered the REC money had been a subject of speculation, INEC leadership had not upheld the neutrality contained in its enabling statute, following the plethora of petitions, allegations and counter-allegations involving its officials.

    He said the statute required INEC to redeploy politically exposed officials and detail new personnel to conduct the supplementary elections in Southern Ijaw and other areas of the state.

    Bamigboye said: “Whilst Electoral Act does not confer locus standi on voters in an election tribunal, the right to vote and be voted for is now under threat due to INEC’s inability to demonstrate commitment to neutrality.

    “When we juxtapose the foregoing facts with Section 28 of the Electoral Act 2010, we must of necessity demand a reasonable degree of legal rectitude from INEC.”

    Quoting Section 18.28 of the Electoral Act, he said: “(1) All staff appointed by the Commission taking part in the conduct of an election shall affirm or swear before the High Court an Oath of neutrality as in the Second Schedule to this Act.

    “(2) All Electoral Officers, Presiding Officers, Returning Officers and all staff appointed by the Commission taking part in the conduct of an election shall affirm or swear an oath of loyalty and neutrality indicating that they would not accept bribe or gratification from any person, and shall perform their functions and duties impartially and in the interest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without fear or favour.”

    The lawyer noted that based on admittance of the REC, the neutrality of INEC in Bayelsa State was legally questionable.

    He said: “Can it be said that in the exercise of its discretion, INEC officials complied with Section 28 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended)? Are we supposed to embark upon a voyage of discovery in order to ascertain the culprits cited by the REC from the outcome of the results so far and that of January 9, 2016?

    “Does the controversy surrounding allegation of the REC amount to INEC’s descent into the arena of dispute? What is the rule when an arbiter, such as INEC, is publicly challenged on its acts or omissions occasioning its decent to the arena of dispute?

    “If the complainants accuse one another as culprits, are we not bound by the rule of law to give fair hearing to the complainants through neutral parties? Are there no neutral persons in INEC whose decisions will not be fettered by the current encumbrances of bias, prejudice, mistrust and ill-will?

    “Is INEC itself conscious of the principles upon which its functions are weighed – whether in the court of public opinion or in courts of justice?

    “Where instruments of human rights and democracy which flow from international comity are violated, are citizens entitled to redress through the respective agencies of government?

    “We have a pending case in this area at the Federal High Court, Abuja (Bamigboye Vs INEC, PDP and APC…).”

    He added: “The foregoing questions point to one fundamental principle, to wit: neutrality. It is settled law that: where the same reasons exist, the same laws prevail, and of things similar, the judgment is similar. (Ubi eadem ratio, ibi eadem lex; et de similibus idem est judicium).

  • Policeman, robber killed in Bayelsa gun battle

    An unidentified policeman attached to the Department of Operations of the Bayelsa State Police Command has been shot dead by suspected robbers at Agudama, Yenagoa Local Government Area.

    Also, a member of the gang and a resident of Agudama, Victor Abule, died in the robbery.

    It was learnt that the incident happened at 11 pm on Saturday when a five-man robbery gang stormed the home of Evelyn Patrick at Agudama.

    The bandits were said to have shot dead Abule, who was Patrick’s neighbour, for allegedly spying on them.

    The deceased police officer was said to have confronted the robbers when they were escaping with their loot.

    This reportedly led to an exchange of gunfire between the hoodlums and the policeman.

    While the policeman shot dead one of the suspected robbers, he had a bullet wound that later caused his death at an undisclosed hospital.

    It was gathered that the bodies of the victims had been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    Police spokesman Asinim Butswat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed the robbery incident and the three casualties.

    Butswat said: “On January 1, at 2200 hour (10 pm), a five-man robbery gang, robbed Evelyn Patrick at Agudama in Yenagoa and shot dead Victor Abule, 23.

    “Consequently, as they were escaping, a police officer confronted the armed men and shot dead one of them. The officer sustained gunshots injuries. He was rushed to the hospital where he eventually died.”

    The spokesman said the command had begun a manhunt for the fleeing suspects while investigation had begun into the incident.

    Also, a 27-year-old man in Yenagoa, Nwani Nnamdi, has died in a boat mishap.

    Nnamdi reportedly died after the canoe conveying him and another person capsized at the Down Yenagoa Creek.

    The passenger died before he could get help.

    The condition of another passenger travelling alongside Nnmadi could not be verified last night.

    The canoe was said to have sunk after it was hit by the waves from a passenger speedboat which drove past as it was crossing to another side of the creek.

    Butswat, who confirmed the incident, said the deceased, whose body had been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Yenagoa, hailed from Ebonyi State and was 27.

  • Sylva to Bayelsans: See 2016 as year of new beginnings

    Sylva to Bayelsans: See 2016 as year of new beginnings

    A governorship candidate in Bayelsa, Chief Timipre Sylva, has urged Bayelsa people and Nigerians to see the New Year as a new start in their individual and collective quests for development.

    He made the call in a New Year message issued by his Media Adviser, Mr Doifie Buokoribo, in Yenagoa on Friday.

    The candidate, who called for improved peaceful coexistence among the people in the New Year and beyond, also urged the people to eschew divisive tendencies.

    Sylva wished the people of Bayelsa a prosperous new year, noting that “as we welcome the New Year this Friday, we should embrace new hopes, new opportunities and new vistas it has for us as Bayelsans and Nigerians to stand out and fulfill our personal and collective destinies.

    “Let us sincerely rededicate ourselves to the hopes and expectations of our founding fathers and steadfastly endeavour to uplift the welfare, peace and security of our people. We have a perfect opportunity to reboot and rebuild.

    “We have come a long way as a state and as a country; we have crossed the bridges over many rivers and it has pleased mother nature to keep us together, despite our fault lines.

    “So, it behoves on us to focus on issues that will sustain and strengthen our togetherness, rather than those that will destroy it.

    “I wish our state and country great success and prosperity. May the peace of the Almighty God reign in our land throughout 2016 and beyond.’’

  • Bayelsa REC

    Bayelsa REC

    •The INEC chief has undermined his own credibility

    As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) attempts to resolve the mess that was the inconclusive gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Baritor Kpagih, has worsened matters by undermining his own credibility as an honest broker.

    In a newspaper interview, Kpagih claimed that he had been approached by unnamed individuals who had attempted to bribe him to influence the outcome of the elections. His refusal, he said, had resulted in threatening calls and mysterious visits to his official residence after the cancellation of the elections in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    Clearly presented as an attempt to shore up his honesty of intention and sincerity of purpose, the Bayelsa REC’s disclosures actually achieve the opposite aim. He did not state the names of those who allegedly attempted to bribe him, and there is no indication in his interview that he reported the matter to either the police or to his superiors at INEC. Why did he choose to reveal this information now, weeks after the elections took place, and not sooner, when such forthrightness could have helped to ensure a free and fair polls?

    It is an obvious fact that the Bayelsa governorship election was riddled with many of the irregularities that conspire to make Nigerian elections a violent and chaotic process. Personal animosities, the profusion of weapons, the presence of militant groups, and the state’s pre-eminence as the home state of former President Goodluck Jonathan all helped to ensure an inconclusive outcome. Despite the vaunted deployment of security forces, voters were attacked, ballot boxes were hijacked, and electoral officials were taken hostage.

    Mr. Kpagih’s disclosures, however, do little to bolster any confidence that the electoral process he superintends will be better handled when it resumes in January. By making allegations apparently unsupported by any evidence, he has unnecessarily heated up the polity and cast doubt on his own competence, neutrality and effectiveness.

    Indeed, from being a referee supposedly above the fray, he has become a player with a vested interest in the outcome. Instead of focusing on improving INEC’s logistics, working more purposefully with the security agencies, and ensuring that all interest groups are kept in the loop, he has unwittingly turned the polls into a referendum on his administrative capabilities.

    Given this situation, it is clear that Kpagih cannot be relied upon to carry out a free and fair election in Bayelsa. INEC should redeploy him and bring in a REC who is more circumspect and less prepared to heap his failings on others. After the Kogi conundrum, the commission can ill afford yet another drawn-out electoral mess that will only strengthen growing perceptions that it is unable to build upon the successes of the 2015 polls.

    INEC’s unimpressive performances in Kogi and Bayelsa states have put it at a crossroads. If it is to move in the right direction, it must embark upon a comprehensive reform of its operations. There are simply too many issues left untreated which eventually become major obstacles to the attainment of successful elections. There is its persistent inability to move election materials and officials to voting locations on time; there are the often-incestuous relationships between RECs and state governors; there is the inexplicable failure to punish electoral offences despite repeated claims that it fully intends to do so.

    If the commission does not undertake the structural reform that is clearly overdue, its effectiveness as national electoral umpire will degrade to the point of unrecognisability, and the unwarranted comments of individuals like Kpagih will sadly become the rule rather than the exception.

     

  • Row in Bayelsa over Dickson’s alleged beating of council chief

    Row in Bayelsa over Dickson’s alleged beating of council chief

    •APC: denial statement issued by Government House 

    The alleged beating of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Chairman of Bayelsa State, Chief Remember Ogbe, by Governor Seriake Dickson, yesterday sparked controversies across the state.

    Dickson was accused of descending heavily on Ogbe for failing to ensure his victory at the botched governorship election in the local government on December 5 and 6.

    The election in the area, where the All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed it defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by a landslide, was cancelled, following alleged irregularities.

    Dickson allegedly invited Ogbe to the Government House in Yenagoa and reportedly gave him a beating of his life.

    But the governor has denied assaulting Ogbe.

    A statement quoted Ogbe as debunking the reports that Dickson physically attacked him over the poll.

    The statement, which emanated from a Government House source, said Ogbe described the report of his alleged assault as wicked and malicious, adding that it was the handiwork of the APC and its governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva.

    The council chief was quoted as saying that the APC was getting more desperate in its bid to take over Bayelsa State by hook or crook.

    He reportedly expressed confidence that the PDP would win in Southern Ijaw.

    Ogbe was said to have also wondered why the APC claimed that the governor was angry for losing election in his council when there was no election at all in the first place.

    The statement said: “Southern Ijaw was riddled with violence and turned to a theatre of war by the APC. Election materials did not get to the polling units, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were kidnapped and these were the reasons why INEC cancelled the process and fixed January 9, 2016 for the election. So, how could the governor be angry with me for not delivering?”

    But in a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO), Chief Nathan Egba, APC dared Ogbe to publicly deny the alleged assault.

    Egba said while Ogbe was still nursing his wounds, Dickson, through his Government House Press Unit, was issuing statements for the chairman.

    He said: “Our response is, therefore, simple as we are also very convinced that Chief Ogbe is a Christian.

    “If he is sure that he was not beaten by anybody, let him come out publicly to deny it on television so that cameras can show his face and other parts.

    “It is embarrassing to note that these denials were issued from the Bayelsa Government House Press Office, while Chief Remember Ogbe is still on his sick bed.”

    Egba said the Southern Ijaw Local Government chairman had not been seen in public since the incident.

    He added: “It is more than two weeks now that Chief Ogbe received the Governor’s beating. This is no lie at all and not political either, but to draw attention to the character of the man who is seeking the mandate of the people.

    “Let us recall that Governor Dickson recently met with various stakeholders from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, including the traditional rulers, chiefs, political appointees and youth groups. Chief Ogbe could not attend any of the meetings because of the injuries inflicted on him by the desperate governor.

    “For the records, the APC flag bearer, Chief Timipre Sylva, has nothing to do with the story; rather, it was the numerous eyewitnesses, including some close associates, who broke the news because of their unhappiness with the goingson in the Government House.

    “We have also promised to provide at least three eyewitnesses, who are willing to stake everything, to confirm this story.”

    Egba urged the Government House to provide a platform for the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area’s chairman to personally address reporters so that Bayelsa residents could see who was lying.

  • Troops arrest five as pirates kill one, injure seven in Bayelsa

    Troops arrest five as pirates kill one, injure seven in Bayelsa

    Troops of Operation Pulo Shield (OPS) formerly known as Joint Task Force (JTF), have arrested five suspected sea pirates and oil thieves in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    The suspects were nabbed by the troops of Sector 2 who were on patrol on the Sangana Creek on December 21 and 22.

    Parading the suspects at the headquarters of OPS in Yenagoa, the state capital, the Coordinator, Joint Media Campaign Centre (JMCC), Col. lsa Ado, named the suspects as Gabriel Abel and Ebiaredia Godday. Others are Samson Ezekiel, Gift Enihus and Richard Christian.

    Ado also paraded four short guns, four cartridges, 12 mobile phones and other stolen personal effects allegedly recovered from the suspects.

    He said the suspects and the recovered items were in the custody of the OPS for preliminary investigations before they are handed over to prosecuting agencies.

    The alleged pirates were paraded a day after another seven-man gang of sea pirates attacked a local boat killing a 25-year old man identified simply as ThankGod, and injuring six other passengers.

    The incident occurred along the Brass waterways, it was learnt. Some of the victims who spoke in Yenagoa said the incident took place at 2pm on Wednesday along the Borma rice farm axis of the Brass/Ogbia/Yenagoa route.

    The manager of the boat, Mr. Kemelayefa Gabriel, said that they were on their way to Yenagoa from Brass when the bandits shot directly at the boat hitting Thankgod.

    He said the gunmen appeared from a narrow creek along the waterways and started shooting at their boat.

    He said: “In the process, a bullet hit ThankGod on the head and he died on the spot. After minutes of shooting at us, they stopped and entered the boat and started beating us with their guns, robbed us and sped-off afterwards.”

    The Chairman of Maritime Workers Union (MWU), Mr. Lloyd Sese lamented the rising waves of pirate attacks on Bayelsa waterways.

    He described the situation as crude and called on the federal government to come to their aid, as efforts by state government to curb the menace have not yielded any positive result.

    He said: “What is baffling is the fact that sea pirates spend over three hours robbing one boat without any form of resistance from waterway security personnel. In some cases after robbing their helpless victims, they even spend time raping women and even force their victims to conduct prayer session on board the boat before leaving.

    “As far as we are concerned, the situation has gone out of hand and it is time we invite the federal government to come to our aid.”

    The body of late ThankGod who hailed from Igbomotoru community in Southern Ijaw LGA has reportedly been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Yenagoa.

  • Bayelsa commissioner abducted

    Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers yesterday abducted Bayelsa State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs Mrs. Serafina Otazi.

    The former Commissioner for Women Affairs was reportedly abducted in Otuoke, the hometown of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Ogbia Local Government Area at 2:30pm.

    She was said to be on her way to Ewoi, a community near Otuoke, when she was whisked away.

    A member of the commissioner’s family, who identified himself simply as Patrick, said Mrs Otazi was on her way to a funeral when she was seized at gun point.

    The commissioner was said to be in company of two other ladies when she was taken away, after her assailants seized her car keys.

    Patrick said the family had reported the incident to the police, praying that Mrs Otazi would be released unhurt.

    Police spokesman Butswat Asinim, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed the incident.

    He said the police were making efforts to locate the kidnappers and release their victim.

    The incident came a day after Nancy Dickson, the younger sister to Governor Seriake Dickson, was abducted in Yenagoa.

    Nancy, 26, who was said to be the last child of the Dicksons, was abducted from her shop on Okaka Road, Yenagoa, the state capital

  • Gunmen abduct Dickson’s sister in Bayelsa

    Gunmen abduct Dickson’s sister in Bayelsa

    Unidentified gunmen Saturday abducted Nancy Keme Dickson, the younger sister to the Bayelsa State’s Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    Nancy, 26, who was said to be the last child of the Dicksons was kidnapped at her shop located in Okaka Road, Yenagoa, the state capital.

    It was gathered that the gunmen who reportedly drove in an ash Lexus Jeep, trailed their target to her shop and whisked her away to an unknown place at about 2:50pm.

    It was unclear how the assailants managed to abduct their victim in a broad daylight in a city guarded at strategic points by patrol vehicles of the state’s security outfit, Operation Door Akpo.

    Investigations revealed that shortly after the incident the police mounted stop and search operations on vehicles at different parts of the city.

    Most residents claimed that the incident was politically motivated.

    Dickson, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing a fierce reelection battle in the ongoing governorship poll in the state.

    Though the governor leads with over 33,000 votes, the rerun poll in Southern Ijaw and about 112 other polling units, which had been fixed for January 9, 2016, makes the contest competitive and tight.

    Bayelsa has been under the throes of kidnapping with persons close to governorship candidates abducted.

    The cousin to the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), chief Timipre Sylva; the centenarian mother of his running mate, Chief Wilberforce Igiri and the wife of an APC chieftain and former acting Governor, Nestor Binabo, were among persons abducted before the poll.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Asinim But swat, confirmed the abduction of Nancy.

    He said: “On the 19 December, 2015, at about 1450hrs, four unknown gunmen in an ash coloured Lexus Jeep, trailed one Nancy Keme Dickinson, 26 yrs, to her shop at Okaka road, Yenagoa, and abducted her and her sales girl to an unknown destination.

    ” The Command immediately embarked on a Stop and Search/Cordon Operations in a bid to rescue the victims and apprehend the perpetrators. Efforts have been intensified to arrest the abductors. Investigation is ongoing.”