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Tag: Bayelsa

  • Photo: Promotion of new immigration officers

    Photo: Promotion of new immigration officers

  • Gunmen sack military barrack in Bayelsa

    Gunmen sack military barrack in Bayelsa

    •Four soldiers, one policeman killed in night operation
    •Arms, ammunition, gunboat seized

    Fear about the return of militancy in the Niger Delta yesterday enveloped Bayelsa State following a daring attack by unknown gunmen on  a military base at Ogbolomabiri in Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    The gunmen suspected to be militants overran and sacked the Joint Task Force (JTF)/Operation Pulo Shield base, killing four soldiers and a mobile policeman.

    They struck in four speed boats loaded.

    The task force is charged with the responsibility of keeping the peace in the state which was notorious for kidnapping, piracy and illegal bunkering.

    Oil bunkering has long been a major cost to Nigeria’s treasury, which depends on oil for around 70 percent of its earnings.

    Another mobile policeman went missing after the incident which occurred at 11:30pm on Friday.

    The gunmen were said to have invaded the base in a coordinated land and water operation.

    Sources said they  ransacked the base and took their time to cart away all the rifles and ammunition of the security operatives.

    An army gunboat was also said to have been taken away by them.

    A source who described the incident as horrific said the security operatives were overwhelmed by the number and sophisticated weapons of the attackers.

    The source said the gunmen operated  for over 30 minutes shooting unceasingly.

    He said: “It was a shooting spree. Though the security operatives were caught unawares, there was little or nothing they could do because of the number of the gunmen and the kind of arms they came with.

    “Some of the gunmen engaged the military base from the waterways while others were shooting from land. The security operatives tried unsuccessfully to stop them. They paid with their lives. Some few fortunate ones escaped”, he said.

    He added: “It was obvious that they came for the arms and ammunition of the soldiers. They carted away all the arms and rifles and fled with a military gunboat.

    “We don’t know the motive behind the stealing of arms in this area. Could it be because of the forthcoming election or could it be a plan to start a fresh round of militancy in the region?”

    A top security source who also spoke in confidence described the attack as planned, coordinated and executed with the evil intention of stealing and stockpiling arms.

    He said the action of the gunmen caused panic in Nembe communities.

    The bodies of the murdered security operatives were recovered and deposited at the mortuary of the Nembe General Hospital.

    Continuing, the source said:”there is a serious problem in the Niger Delta region. We have been raising the alarm of functional and active militant camps operating in the region despite the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    “The most disturbing one is this trend of attacking security operatives and stealing their arms. They have been doing this. The one they did in Cross River State was also massive. They are stockpiling arms.”

    Defence spokesman Colonel Rabe Abubakar blamed the attack on  “suspected oil bunkerers”.

    He said: “The Joint Task Force Operation PULO SHIELD has moved into action to arrest and apprehend the perpetrators of this unpatriotic and callous attacks.

    “The military will deal decisively with anybody or group involved in this and similar acts of attacks or sabotage on the nation’s economy.”

    He  advised the general public in the affected community to go about their normal business activities, and solicited their cooperation by given timely information to the military or any other security agencies to avert future re-occurrence of the ‘ugly incidence’.

    The Defence Headquarters also reiterated its commitment to ensuring the protection of lives and property of innocent citizens nationwide.

    Speaking separately on the development, JTF’s Coordinator, Joint Campaign Media Centre (JMCC), Lt. Col. Isa Ado, said :  “We are working on getting the  real details. The JTF is on the move to apprehend the hoodlums. We won’t relent on our efforts of fighting criminality in the region.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Mr. Butswat Asinim, said details at the disposal of the police suggested that four soldiers and a policeman were killed in the attack.

    He said: “On the 7 August, 2015, at about 11:30pm, four speedboats loaded with unknown gunmen, suspected to be sea pirates attacked the Joint Task Force (JTF) Base, at Nembe Water front, in Nembe LGA, killing four soldiers and one policeman.

    “The gunmen carted away two HP Guns and other arms from the Base. A combined team of the JTF, Marine Police and the Navy are combing the creeks to recover the arms and arrest the culprits”.

    A combined military and police team was searching local creeks to find the attackers last night.

     

  • Bayelsa celebrates Ijaw musicians, honours 17

    The late King Robert Ebizimor still sings and dances a year after his death. His images pop up on television and his voice regularly hits the radio. The airwaves still reverberates with his sounds and lyrics laced with Ijaw tradition. Ebizimor has remained a household name even after death.

    Indeed, Ebizimor immortalized himself with his talent before kissing the world and the Ijaw nation goodbye. He was the most popular musical icon who promoted Ijaw culture and took it out of the shores of the Niger Delta region.

    He died in a ghastly motor accident along the East-West Road on the 31 of July, 2014. But in 2015 the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, through the Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, Dr. Felix Tuodolo, resurrected him. The governor became the first to celebrate the first anniversary of the late Ijaw musician’s demise.

    At the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre in Yenagoa, Ijaw musicians, government officials and upcoming Ijaw artistes gathered to honour the legend of Ijaw music. The governor honoured the living and departed Ijaw musicians. Dickson presented special awards to some of them in the state, in recognition of their various contributions to the preservation and promotion of Ijaw culture and tradition.

    Dickson expressed government’s commitment to establish a studio at the Bayelsa State Musical School, after its inauguration. He said the studios when built will be used to record all songs, including that of late Rex Lawson. He said that proceeds from the sale of the albums will be made available to their families.

    The governor described King Ebizimo as “the most gifted and prolific musician in Ijaw land”. He expressed regret that “he was not celebrated enough, while he was alive adding that the Ijaw nation will greatly miss him.”

    He said: “We were sad that we lost him but we also thank God for his life. This is one man the Ijaw nation will miss for a very long time but we are happy because he gave us a lot to celebrate.”

    “King Robert Ebizimo gave us so much music and a lot to celebrate. Between last year and now, if he had been alive, he would have produced more albums so in that sense, we miss him.

    “When the Bayelsa State School of Music is fully equipped and commissioned, my intention is to have all his songs; from the first to the last one before his death recorded.

    “And, I will also direct the gentleman, who will administer the school to get the songs played by late Rex Lawson and others and the studio will wax their songs and sell them from time to time and the proceeds essentially would be given to their families because from generation to generation, we want to preserve their music as part of our heritage.”

    Without mining words, the governor designated the 31st of every July as Ijaw Cultural and Musical Day to further project the identity and positive values of the people.

    Persons who received awards are  Chief Agbeotu Teinbo, General Alaska, Bestman Doupere, Orutugu Fubara, Skido Ozidi, Simple Boys of Okutukutu and White Eagles of Sabagreia.

    In his welcome address, Tuodolo described Dickson as a lover of culture and said a “society that fails to honour its heroes and achievers is not worth being proud of”. He praised the governor for honouring persons who made the state proud.

    He said: “Those that have made Bayelsa State and the ijaw nation proud should be honoured so that we that younger ones should pick courage from them and also excel in our different endovours.

    “I stand to authoritatively state that no government in Bayelsa State has honoured its heroes like the present restoration government. We have brought the celebration of Isaac Boro to international standard where people come all the way from America to grace the occasion here in Bayelsa.

    “We have named the Cultural Centre after a great poet from Bayelsa State, Dr. Gabriel Okara, we have sponsored the memorial of our great hero, Late Melford Okilo we have built a structure and name it after  streets after  Late General Azazi. We have name Streets after  elders like Lambert Eradiri, Isaac Boro all in honour of our people”.

  • Foreign investors eye Bayelsa’s Atala oil field

    Governor Seriake Dickson’s effort to develop the state-owned Atala Field has begun to yield fruits as some foreign investors have indicated interest in the asset.

    During the Bayelsa State Investment and Economic Forum held in Yenagoa, the state capital, promoters of some foreign companies said they had registered to participate in the forum to meet with officials of the state government to participated in the deal.

    One of the promoters from Houston, Texas, United States, said the meeting was necessary for him to showcase the outcome of his visit to his government.

    “We are quite aware of the short period of turning around the fortune of Atala within two years of the takeover by Century Exploration and Production Limited (CEPL) through the initiative of Dickson. Since the government has no business doing business, we are interested in replicating strategies adopted by Dickson in other sectors in the state and in Nigeria,” a source at CEPL said.

    Dickson’s restoration plan for Bayelsa led to the state’s entry into the nation’s oil and gas map as the first state that brought to production its oil field – Atala field. This is one of the achievements re2corded by the governor since his assumption of duties on February 14, 2012.

    Atala Oil Field is located in oil mining lease (OML) 46, and was among the 24 marginal fields allocated to 31 indigenous companies and state owned companies during the marginal fields licensing round in 2003. This makes Atala one of the eight fields developed by investors to production level in the 24 fields. It contributes one per cent to Nigeria’s daily crude oil production.

    Production by Atala Field, according to the source, was made possible by the engagement of Century Exploration and Production Limited (CEPL) by Dickson as the technical and funding partner on assumption of office in 2012. The breakdown of the participatory interest shows that Bayelsa Oil Company Limited (BOCL) owns 51 per cent, CEPL-29 per cent and Hardy Oil, 20 per cent.

    Atala 1 well was re-entered, completed, tested and rig released on Aug 11, last year. The extended well test commenced on December 20, 2014 with anticipated peak production of 6,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) but currently the firm aims to achieve production of 5,000 bopd before second quarter of next year. The field has recorded estimated cumulative production of about 60,000 barrels stored in barges. This was test production of less than 20 days and in good position to commence evacuation for export. All the above were carried out with the highest health, safety and environment standards with 100 per cent local content and engagement of state owned support personnel, the source said.

    Another foreign investor at the forum said: “The Atala Field is a role model for oil industry development for Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The fact that the state government used local companies as partner shows that there is lot of good things to learn from Bayelsa example. We hope to continue to our relationship with Bayelsa.”

    The Managing Director Channel Oil Petroleum Mr. Ebibomo Timitimi, who participated in the forum, praised Dickson’s good initiative to transform Bayelsa from  a civil service state to a leading industrial centre in Africa.

    He noted that there are various investment initiatives by Dickson that were the major attraction of some foreign firms, which seek to partner the state and make fresh investment.

  • Four kids, woman crushed to death in Bayelsa

    Four kids, woman crushed to death in Bayelsa

    Four children and a woman were crushed to death at the weekend in Bayelsa State.

    The incidents occurred on two separate locations.

    A two-year-old girl was said to have been crushed in one of the accidents, which triggered a protest by residents of Osiri Road in Yenagoa Local Government Area.

    It was gathered that the vehicle, which killed the unidentified girl, belongs to a local government chairman and was driven by his driver.

    The driver was said to have escaped lynching from the residents, who attempted to burn the Prado Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

    The victim, identified as Favour Kelechi, was said to have run into the road.

    A source said the incident occurred when the council chairman visited a resident.

    “After the chairman finished his visit, the driver, who was attempting to move the car to pick up his principal, drove in a rough and speedy manner. He could not control the vehicle when the child suddenly ran into his path,” the source, who spoke in confidence, said.

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

    He said: “The report from the Ekeki Divisional headquarters of the police showed that it was a fatal motor and pedestrian accident.

    “On July 31, at 3.30pm, on Mbiama/Yenagoa Road by Osiri Junction, a black Prado SUV with an unknown registration number knocked down Favour Kelechi, two, a female. The victim was rushed to hospital but died a few minutes later.”

    The second incident, it was gathered, happened in Sagbama Local Government Area, resulting in the death of a woman and her three children on the East-West Road.

    A Toyota SUV was said to have rammed into a roadside market at Adagbabiri Junction and killed the victims at 3:40pm.

    An eyewitness, who gave his name simply as Kelvin, said the woman and her children were having lunch when the car ran into their kiosk and crushed them.

    “Of the woman and her four children, she and three of the children have been confirmed dead; one is still battling to live,” Kelvin said.

    The deceased mother was identified as Ruth and the children’s names are: Favour, 9, Godsgift, 5 and one-year-old Oghenerho.

    Butswat said the SUV, with registration number YEN726RG, was coming from Patani.

     

     

  • How Bayelsa is coping with cash crunch, by Dickson

    How Bayelsa is coping with cash crunch, by Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson spoke with reporters in Yenagoa, the state capital, about the dwindling revenue, salary crisis and the plight of local government workers. Mike Odiegwu was there.

    How is your government coping with dwindling revenue and payment of workers’ salaries?

    You spoke about payment of salaries and everyone knows that, in Bayelsa State, we don’t owe salaries, we are not in arrears of salaries. We are also not in arrears in paying retirees. Only recentlyI met with the pensioners and they expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the government.

    The only challenge we have is about gratuity which has lingered for about ten years. But, in terms of regular payment of salaries, Bayelsa is not owing and we are also not owing pensioners.

    What are the measures we have put in place? It’s a combination of prudence and the selfless dedication of my team. For us the people’s interest comes first and that’s why even in my office for three months running, there has been no running cost paid. We don’t also have overhead paid for three months now, all because we want to ensure that salaries of workers are paid.

    These are for us first line charges and every government needs to treat this as priority payments. And so, God has been helping and my team has been supporting and dedicated and that’s why we have been able to achieve what most states have not been able to achieve for now.

    The bailout that states are getting, Bayelsa is not getting. Since Bayelsa is not indebted, Bayelsa is not given bailout because the bail out is for states that are indebted.

    Yes, our commitment to contractual obligation to contractors is what we are thinking about so that development project works can continue, to see that at the end of the day Bayelsa is way up there.

    We, however, noticed a slight delay in recent months with regard to salary payments. What was responsible for that?

    A delay of one week or two within the context of Nigeria is nothing remarkable. not what people should talk about. Let’s not behave in a way that people will wonder whether we are descendants of the Israelites who complained about everything, even when Moses was leading them out of Egypt, asking ‘why are you taking us out of the land of Egypt to die in the wilderness?’

    Some of these delays are due to late transfers and remittances from banks,which I believe is being sorted out. And as the public holiday ends, I’m sure all those issues will be taken care of.

    While you are paying workers’ salaries, the same cannot be said of the local government chairmen. What is your administration doing about this?

    I want to make it clear that as we have demonstrated the payment of worker’s salaries, even in the face of financial difficulty at the state level the payment of worker’s salaries should be made a topmost priority. That is the first thing you do when you receive allocations even before obligations that have to do with running of the office.

    For three months running I’ve not received or permitted any remittances to my office. I never permitted any payment of security votes to my office because I felt that priority has to be given to salaries and pension because these are wages that have been earned. So we are very sad that the situation such as you describe exists at the local governments. The state assembly is vested with the constitutional powers to unravel the reasons occasioning that undesirable situation.

    Well I don’t want to pre-judge the investigation being undertaken by the House of Assembly but the revenues that accrue to councils has also drastically reduced due to the shortfalls in the allocation from the Federation account as we all get it from the same source. All the same our expectation is that payment of salaries should be given priority attention, especially because there is a deliberate policy since I took over not to interfere with council funds and not to deduct any money meant for Local Government coffers.

    Rather, we pay 60% percent of the burden of paying teachers that they ought to bear away from them because of the importance that we attach to education. So with regard to local government salaries we are concerned because in the end I am Governor of everybody and we are running a government that has to protect everybody. And, I await the recommendations that the Assembly shall make from their findings and inquiries but from the preliminary reports I have received so far there is the possibility of our finding one way or the other to clear the backlog of salaries of Local Government workers.

    “The only challenge we have is about gratuity which has lingered for about ten years. But, in terms of regular payment of salaries, Bayelsa is not owing and we are also not owing pensioners”

    We have a very difficult situation that we are managing ourselves but I find it unacceptable in Bayelsa that any worker going to work will at month end not have his salary. It is not acceptable. So on that score, by the time I get the recommendations of the House, I will meet with my team and we shall devise ways to support the councils for the sake of the workers.

    Local Government Councils as created by the constitution are autonomous and that is why we don’t interfere in things that they do. We only give them general guidelines to be prudent and just as I have obligation to declare my income and expenditure, they also have an obligation and expect that they will be doing so. But we will take more than a passing interest in their financial issues and only as it relates to workers salaries.

    Recently, you started the Bayelsa State Volunteers to engage 3000 youths with N46million take off grant. What is the reason behind it?

    The Bayelsa Volunteer scheme is being rejuvenated and for those who are talking about graduate unemployment, for those who are saying things that are politically motivated, this government has engaged more youths than any government before me in terms of public employment and public service at all levels.

    We feel that we should start off with that. The Bayelsa Volunteers would start up a mechanism for training their members and imparting necessary skills in them for more permanent employment and productive enterprise. I said while presenting the instrument that every month they don’t need to come to me as it will be treated as first line charge, as part of the general salary payment.

    So all those beneficiaries, once salaries are paid, they will also get their allowances. They will be given opportunity to do a few things to earn a living, to earn one skill or the other. As I said earlier it is not intended to be a terminal end but stop-gap for the moment. It is to assist them find their bearing , assist them to cope with these difficult times pending when they will get something better and it will be nice for them to have this at the back of their minds before they start thinking they’ve got a pensionable job because that’s not the amount they would need to make a living forever. I enjoin all of them to be law abiding and to be faithful to their assigned duties and to acquire the necessary skills and correct attitude.

    If your administration truly funded some of these projects, why have they not been officially commissioned?

    All these projects in Bayelsa, I wish to state unequivocally, were conceived ,designed, funded and completed by the government of Bayelsa.There is not one that was not funded by the government of Bayelsa hundred percent and I believe everybody knows.

    I think what happened is this. Everybody wants to be governor, every character, every body once you are 35 years develop a governorship ambition. Any position you hold you don’t use it to help the people, you don’t use it to work for the state, you use it to fight for governorship. That is what is happening in Bayelsa. So a lot of people who were not in Bayelsa have had the inordinate ambition but were intimidated by the performance of my government and they say ‘with the way this man is going if we don’t throw stories around and take away the credit that should go to him and his government we won’t be able to contest an election again’. So, they started concocting stories to deceive the poor unsuspecting people of Bayelsa that these are federal projects.

    There is no federal project that they will do and give you the money. There must be a contract. It must be in the budget and they will pass the budget, they will award it, and they will come and supervise it and finish it.First of all I am not a flamboyant governor. I am someone who believes that our work will speak for us. For example as we completed Amassoma road we started using it and we have been using it for almost a year. I didn’t do any formal inauguration, when we started and finished Boro road, the road to Boro town a very historic centre conceived by Chief Okilo, but, no governor could do it; probably some of them didn’t have the time, because I believe that Chief Alamiesigha would have done it,I believe that Dr. Jonathan would have done it if he had the time but I have completed that road and you have a brand new satellite city coming up.

    All these projects you see are state government- designed, state- government funded; there is none that I know as governor that is federally funded or supported. Even the Airport ,we had to borrow N40 billion. The Assembly had to give me permission to borrow N40 billionth to do the airport and the airport is going on. They have finished sand filling ,they are doing the engineering works. By next year by the grace of God,we shall have delivered to the people of Bayelsa State a brand new airport.

    These characters who are not serious feel that politics is only about spreading propaganda and rumors and because some of our people are gullible,they listen to rumour more than even reality. Let me inform you that in the early days of my government some of these characters had met me. They said that there was no point in the programmes that I was initiating, that these Bayelsa people you don’t work like this for them o! They said so, but I pushed on and they became intimidated. These are not projects that any other person gave one naira for. If it were so why has the Federal Government not spoken? Why have they not sent people to commission them?

    I didn’t commission them because we were waiting for the former President to finish,we were trying to find time for him to pay a state visit and he really wanted to pay a state visit and he knew all these things I was doing. I wanted to give him the honour of commissioning some of these projects. That bridge, l was in his cabinet and I saw the passion he had when he awarded that contract,the project was conceived by DSP but he didn’t stay long enough to award it and when Jonathan took over,he awarded that contract to SETRACO. I was in the cabinet;and then we pushed it to a level before we left in 2007.

    When I came back I found that the project had long been abandoned but we have now completed it. So I wanted him to come and have the honour and I will still invite him to join me,but these are not Federal projects, nobody,no federal official serving or previous can take credit. They are all thanking me ,appreciating me for the vision and commitment and the dedication. So that is the situation.

    Our opponents can’t do anything,they don’t mean well for you in this state. All they do is spread propaganda and deceive people that they will come and give you money.It is the small money for payment of salaries that they want to steal,that was why salary wage bill was N6 billion but we have brought it to N4 billion. They were stealing. That is why we are awarding contracts and getting them done. Even when they took bond they stole the money,they could have built these roads,they could have built even two fly overs but they did not.

    So we are planning to inaugurate some of these jobs next month because I now feel that our people like ceremony. And we will give them some ceremony. And we have a lot of commissioning to do. We will commission the Boro Town road done by us. We will commission the flyover, the Azikoro road which we did and finished although we allowed people to be using it . All these roads we did, look at the Secretariat we built, who are they saying brought money to build them? These are characters whose stock in trade is to spread propaganda. Let us see wait and see the characters that they will produce that can match us in terms of what we have put on ground.

     

  • PDP’s BoT meeting in Bayelsa sparks row

    PDP’s BoT meeting in Bayelsa sparks row

    It was meant to bring peace. But a meeting by the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  in Bayelsa State to reconcile feuding groups ahead of the December 5 governorship election has provoked more controversies.

    The Acting Chairman of the party’s BoT, Dr. Haliru Mohammed, it was gathered, presided over the parley which was convened on Sunday at the courtyard of the former President Goodluck Jonathan in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area.

    It was gathered that the meeting was at the behest of Jonathan, who was said to be making efforts to halt the exodus of his party men to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A core decision taken at the gathering, it was learnt, was the lifting of the suspension and expulsion of party leaders by the State Working Committee (SWC).

    The SWC, in a move supported by the Governor Seriake Dickson, expelled for anti-party activities during the last general elections.

    They were sanctioned a few months after the state chairman of the party was suspended for allegedly diverting N40million campaign funds donated by the former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke – an allegation he denied.

    But the move backfired and led to a prolonged crisis that saw some disgruntled people pitching their tent with the APC.

    The Saturday meeting, which started at 11am, however, ended with anti-Dickson forces claiming that the governor and the chairman of the state Reconciliation Committee were barred from the gathering.

    One of the anti-Dickson party members said the meeting, insisted that Dickson and Alameiyesiegha should not be part of it.

    The source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The two were asked to leave and were accompanied out of the venue by Haliru before the meeting commenced. They accused Alamieseigha of taking sides and insisted that he should not be party of the gathering.

    But a loyalist of the governor who spoke in confidence said nobody was walked out of the meeting.

    He said: “This is part of a campaign of calumny against Dickson. I was present at the meeting and nobody was walked out. It is senseless to say that a sitting governor who also initiated the reconciliation and a former governor who is the chairman of the reconciliation committee were barred from attending a meeting. It is unbelievable. Nothing of such happened”.

    Also, the Secretary of the state Reconciliation Committee, Chief Thompson Okorotie, said there was no time the governor or any member of the party was walked out of the meeting.

    He said the Haliru-led committee met with groups separately as part of diplomacy in resolving the crisis.

    “Dickson had an engagement to inaugurate the Nembe City stadium. So after concluding his meeting with the committee, he was allowed to go for his engagement with his entourage. We also followed him to Nembe.

    “Alamieyeseigha followed us to Nembe. Even the former President left shortly because the committee wanted to be left alone with the people they invited to meet. So, it is not true that he was walked out of the meeting,” he said.

    Also, the state Secertary of PDP, Mr.  Godspower Keku, said the meeting ended peacefully, with a call on feuding members and stakeholders to close ranks, ahead of the forthcoming governorship poll.

    He said the meeting resolved to rescind the suspension and expulsion of some members, who had despite the internal squabbles, remained in the PDP, unlike those, who defected to the opposition.

    He said the decision was taken in the best interest of the party, especially with a crucial election around the corner.

    According to him, the decision was taken on Dickson’s request.

     He, however, pointed out that, the lifting of the suspensions was still subject to the ratification of the state’s working committee, which is expected to deliberate on it soon.

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  • ‘PDP NWC post-election committee a ruse’

    ‘PDP NWC post-election committee a ruse’

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief, Ben Onyechere, has described the post-election committee set up by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), as diversionary.

    He said the NWC ought to have resigned for allegedly being responsible for the party’s electoral woes.

    Onyechere, a former Special Assistant to former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme, said if the leaders have the party’s interest at heart, they must accept responsibility for its failures.

    He said: “The committee set up by the unrepentant NWC is not only an aberration, but repulsive and diversionary.

    “It is a slap on our cheeks that the same people, who prosecuted the worst electoral failure in the history of democracy, are bent on holding on to their despicable positions, long after the chairman had resigned. They even constituted a fact-finding committee on the failure, a mockery of our sensibilities.

    “It is unbelievable that irrespective of the corruption that transpired during the primaries, they have not been sacked.

    “It is clear that the NWC has embarked on another senseless jamboree in the name of opposition by confronting the Buhari-led government on every front, in efforts to stave away calls for their sack”.

  • PDP, APC and politics of second term in Bayelsa

    PDP, APC and politics of second term in Bayelsa

    Bayelsa State Governor is Seriake Dickson is fighting to get the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for a second term. Correspondent MIKE ODIEGWU examines the obstacles on his way.

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson is in the eye of the storm. His bid for a second term has become a tough battle between his camp and his foes, in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Dickson is fighting to remain in the Creek Haven, the Government House, next year.

     

    Thorny path to second term:

     The first obstacle against the governor’s re-election bid is the crack in the PDP. The crisis between Dickson and the former first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has not been resolved. The former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was a pillar of support for Dickson when he competed for the ticket with his predecessor, Timpreye Sylva.

    Mrs. Jonathan resigned her appointment as a Permanent Secretary in Bayelsa State. After her resignation, the friction led to the factionalisation of the PDP.

    Sources said that Mr. Weripamowei Dudafa, a former presidential aide, was being sponsored by Mrs. Jonathan. According to them, the former first lady was planning to use the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) as a platform to campaign against Dickson. The leader of the group, Hon.   Talford Ongolo, a former Speaker of the old Rivers State House of Assembly, who is the Chief of Staff, was shoved aside to pave the way for the former deputy governor, Werinipre Seibarugu, an associate of Mrs. Jonathan.

    The group has continued to wax stronger in Bayelsa. Its office on Isaac Boro Road, Yenegoa, is always alive with partisan activities.

     

    Crack in PDP

    The governor moved swiftly by whittling the influence of Mrs. Jonathan. He sacked members of the State Executive Council perceived to be loyal to the iron lady. Last year, Mr. Francis Egele, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice; Mr Ayakeme Massa, Trade, Investment and Industry Commissioner, and Dr Anapurere Michael Awoli, the Health Commissioner, were removed. Also dropped from the council were Mr. Nelson Belief (Tourism Development); Mr Gesiye Isowo (Special Duties (Federal Projects); Mr. Parkinson Macmanuel (Science, Technology and Manpower Development), Mr. Zuwa Konuga (Capital City Development), and Dr. Sylvanus Abila, (Environment).

    Other prominent politicians, including the Commissioner for Local Government, Mrs. Marie Ebikake, the Special Adviser on Federal Government Projects, Chief Remi Kuku, were sent packing. The aggrieved politicians may have resolved to team up with Mrs. Jonathan to work against Dickson’s re-election bid.

     

    Suspension and defection

    The PDP was further torn apart by the suspension of founding members. The Chairman, Col. Sam Inokoba, was suspended in controversial circumstances by the State Working Committee (SWC). The development worsened the bad blood between Dickson and Mrs. Jonathan. Inokoba, an associate of the former President, was accused of financial impropriety.

    However, the suspension is yet to be upheld by the National Working Committee (NWC) as stipulated in the PDP constitution. Therefore, ahead of the election, the PDP has two factional chairmen-Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff and Inokoba. The Federal High Court was has restrained Inokoba from parading himself as the chairman. Yet, Dokubo-Spiff is yet to be recognised by the NWC.

    The governor has filled the leadership vacuum. He set up a committee chaired by his deputy to investigate the activities of erring chieftains during the last general elections. He also vowed to punish those indicted of anti-party activities. Consequently, nine chieftains were punished. Expelled from the party were Dudafa, Senator Nimi Barigha-Amange and former Acting Governor Nestor Binabo, former Deputy Governor Werinipre Seibarugu, Mr. Chamberlain Kren Ikidi, Mr. Osomkime Blankson, Mr. Emmanuel Okponipre, Mr. Ebikapade Dibiya and Joyce Fouyowei.

    Dokubo Spiff said the Executive Committee of the party has adopted the recommendations of the disciplinary committee in an unanimous voice vote.

    He, however, noted that some of the indicted members, who are in the National Assembly or holding appointments at the national level, would be referred to the national body of the PDP for further disciplinary measures in line with the provisions of the constitution.

    He said: “The State Working Committee met after receiving the report and deliberated on it and the State Executive Committee took a unanimous voice vote, based on the gravity of the offences and the attitudes of the affected members. Some were expelled, others suspended and a few others were reprimanded and exonerated.”

    Defending the disciplinary action, Dickson said that it would check indiscipline and disloyalty, which are inimical to the survival of the party. He said chieftains who sponsored candidates against the PDP in the state in the last elections were disloyal members.

    Dickson stressed: “You cannot have a situation where party leaders will sponsor candidates on the platform of other political parties to contest for political power and space against our party. And they do so with impunity, campaign openly while they are PDP members benefitting from the platform provided by our party. This can no longer be tolerated.

    “This is a PDP state, but our party’s strength will wane, if we do not maintain party discipline. We cannot tolerate a situation where a few people consider themselves above the party and do things with impunity without regard for the authority of the leadership of the party just because they are in one leadership position or the other which by the way were positions they got through the instrumentality of the PDP.”

    But, Inokoba fired back. He described the activities of the governor and the disciplinary committee as null and void, accusing Dickson of destroying the party. He said the crisis was engineered by the governor to send potential governorship aspirants out of the PDP and pave the way for him as the sole candidate.

    He said: “As the truly elected chairman of the PDP in the state, I am the only one that can summon any meeting of the executive committee or set up any disciplinary committee”.

     

    Failed reconciliation

    The defection of prominent chieftains is a setback for the PDP. The defectors-Senator Clever Ikisikpo, Mr. Nadu Karibo and Hon. Azibola Omekwe-dumped the PDP for the APC, citing the protracted crisis as the reason for leaving.

    Former President Jonathan’s move to reconcile the warring chieftains were belated. Many members have berated him for failing to stop his associates from leaving for the APC. They alleged that he refused to call them to order as they sowed the seed of discord. Although he called a meeting, many aggrieved chieftains shunned the parley. Sources said Mrs. Jonathan’s associates refused to attend the fence-mending meeting because of the presence of the Dickson and his supporters.

    For the PDP to retain power next year, party elders said the aggrieved members should rally round Jonathan and Dickson. Jonathan has endorsed the second term aspiration of the governor and party members to support him.

    The former President also set up a three-man committee headed by former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha to reconcile the aggrieved groups and individuals. Other members are King A. J. Turner and Chief Thompson K. Okorotie.

     

    A house divided

    Despite the endorsement of Dickson for a second term by Dr. Jonathan, Dickson’s kinsmen, under the aegis of Ogbia Joint Initiative (ODJI), said rejected the endorsement. Then, a gale of defections followed. Dr. Jonathan’ friend, Chief Diekivie Ikiogha, defected to the APC.

    Ikiogha, a founding member of the PDP, Chief Victor Awala, Mr. Paul Ajuwa, Mrs. D. Irene, Mr. Prince Abeki, a former commissioner, and  over 150 former councillors led the ruling party.

    At a rally in Yenagoa, Ikiogha said he decided to quit the PDP because it is party of betrayal and deceit.

    He said:  “The PDP is full of betrayal and deceit. There is lack of internal democracy and it is a party where the highest bidder always has his ways.”

     

    Division among elders

    Dickson’s second term ambition has divided the party elders under the umbrella group, the Bayelsa Development Forum (BDF) headed by Chief Thompson Okorotie. Those opposed to the governor’s ambition have left the group. Following their exit, they held a meeting in Yenagoa to map out strategies. In attendance were former commissioners, special advisers and local council chairmen. Majority of them came from Dickson’s Bayelsa West Senatorial District. At the meeting, they formed a group, the Bayelsa Peoples Consultative Assembly (BPCA). Senator John Brambayefa from Sagabama, where Dickson hails from, was elected chairman of the group.

    Speakers flayed the Dickson administration, saying that it has made the state stagnant. They were unanimous in their clamour for change.

    Brambayefa disclosed that a 14-member committee has been set up to work out the modalities for their defection to the APC.

    Also, an elder statesman, Alex Ekiotimin, said decried what he described as the inhuman polices of the governor. He accused him of disregarding elders, adding that their decision to join the APC was in order.

    But, Dickson described the elders as greedy and hypocritical politicians.

    He said: “This is an opportunistic lobby group, desperately in search of power without any modicum of integrity. They should be reminded that contrary to their assertions, they actually constitute the problem of development in the state. Their selfish conception of politics and attitude in government are what had retarded development in the state since the era of the late statesman, Chief MelfordOkilo.

    “Bayelsans can never exchange the present peace and tranquility in the state and the unprecedented level of development for the chaos and unmitigated rent culture of the past”.

    Dickson said the aim of the group is to return the state to the era when state resources were shared among few people at the expense of development.

    He added: “Since 1999, these are the same people, who benefited in state and federal appointments, which came with huge influence and privileges, but what did they do with such power and influence?                                         “What has been their contribution to economic development and empowerment of Bayelsans? All they want is free access to money, which will enable them to live big at the expense of development.”

    Also, the PDP said the defection to the APC is insignificant, although it acknowledged that it was unfortunate and embarrassing.

    The party said the defectors were not grateful to the platform that offered them opportunities to rise to stardom.

    The Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osom Makbere, alleged that the defectors  have wrecked havoc on the platform before leaving for the APC.

    He said: “These fellows, who actually have no electoral value and whose fibre are also spent, are creating the impression that they are moving with supporters.”

    He said the defectors took undue advantage of the PDP’s defeat at the centre to reposition themselves as APC members, adding that they did so to curry favour and attract patronage from the APC leadership. He said it is shameful and disheartening that the defectors were the key men of the former President.

    Makbere added: “They ought to remain faithful to the party in this period of sober reflection as a way of demonstrating our appreciation and eternal gratitude to the party for providing the platform for us as a minority to produce the President.

    “But they are now busy jumping ships in passion for greener pastures. This clearly show them as people who are untrustworthy, disloyal, unfaithful and treacherous”, he said.

    He said the defectors sought to fly the flag of the party at the last general elections, but lost out by divine providence.

    He said: “It is repugnant that most of these persons are beneficiaries of the magnanimity of the Seriake Dickson Restoration Government which either appointed them to senior sensitive positions or awarded them contracts. These are the ones turning around to say that nothing is happening in the state.”

    Makbere said Dickson has recorded many achievements in the areas of good governance, rule of law, safety of life and property, education, rural electrification construction ad equipment of hospitals.

    He added: “We are not perturbed by these show of shame because the party ad the government enjoy massive support from within and outside the state. We use this opportunity to appeal to our teaming party supporters ad the general public to remain calm and collected and have unflinching confidence in the government and the party”, he said.

     

    Divided cabinet

    The State Executive Council is also divided over the governor’s ambition. Commissioners and special advisers are attending anti-Dickson’s meeting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State capital, by the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe, who may run for the governor in the APC.

    A source said: “Timi Alaibe hosted a meeting in Port Harcourt. I have the names of Dickson’s aides who were in attendance. Even people in Government are in the opposition. The governor is aware of all the moves by some of his appointees to join forces with his detractors and move against him.”

  • £5m Alamieyeseigha looted fund given to Bayelsa govt

    £5m Alamieyeseigha looted fund given to Bayelsa govt

    More than £5 million recovered from the funds stolen by former Bayelsa State Governor Dieprieye  Alamieyeseigha was handed back to the state government in 2012, it was learnt at the weekend.

    Nigeria’s retiring High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Dr. Dalhatu Tafida who broke the news at the at the weekend in Birmingham where he spoke with the Nigerian community on the amount of stolen funds received from the UK by the Federal Government through its High Commission in London.

    Tafida’s visit to Birmingham was part of a thank-you-tour as his tenure ends on August 15, after an eight-year stint as Nigeria’s chief envoy in the UK. He had earlier visited Manchester, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Newcastle and Belfast.

    According to Tafida, the £5 million was received from the British authorities and handed over to two government officials from Bayelsa State, who came to London for the transfer.

    He told his audience that the money was lodged a Bayelsa State government account with the London branch of First Bank Plc.

    Alamieyeseigha, who was impeached, tried and convicted, got a presidential pardon in March 2013 – courtesy of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Justifying the clemency extended to Alamieyeseigha, a former presidential adviser to Dr. Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe had told reporters in 2013 that the former governor was pardoned because he had been remorseful.

    “He was tried, jailed and dispossessed of his property. He has been remorseful and there is no law against the granting of pardons to any criminal,” Okupe had said.

    Alamieyeseigha was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September 2005 by the Metropolitan Police and initially remanded but later granted bail.

    In breach of his bail requirements, he left the UK and returned to Nigeria in 2005. He entered a plea bargain in a Federal High Court after being convicted on six counts of making false declaration of assets.

    Part of the money recovered, according to the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank, consisted of $1.5 million in cash, seized at the time of arrest and $2.7 million held in bank accounts (Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, Santolina Investment Corporation account in excess of GBP 1.8 million) and London real estate worth $15 million (four properties registered under Solomon & Peters Ltd. as sole proprietor).

    In May 2006, a London court ordered the confiscation of the seized cash pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act, after Mr. Alamieyeseigha skipped bail and returned to Nigeria; bank accounts and London real estate were confiscated pursuant to a December 2007 United Kingdom High Court summary judgment; and a July 2008 judgment left to confiscation of remaining assets in the United Kingdom, Denmark and Cyprus.

    Pursuant to his July 2007 plea in Nigerian High Court, he was sentenced to a two-year prison term and his assets in Nigeria were ordered seized.

    Commenting on the alleged refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to ride in a Rolls Royce from the Heathrow Airport when visiting Britain as a president- elect in May 2015, Tafida said it was untrue that Buhari declined the offer.

    The envoy said: “The story is not true. It didn’t happen. I went to the airport to receive him right from the plane. I took him to where he stayed and we left back to Nigeria together.

    He rode from the airport with me in my official car, which is a bullet proof Mercedes Benz (marked FGN1). To God who made me, Buhari did not refuse anything we gave him. That was what I gave him for the six days he spent. Even, when he took over, I called him, I spoke to him. Buhari is my brother.”

    The retiring High Commissioner confirmed that the High Commision indeed has a Rolls Royce, “but we didn’t send rolls Royce to pick Buhari”.