The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayelsa

  • Tompolo’s meeting: Police take over venue

    Tompolo’s meeting: Police take over venue

    A team of armed and riot policemen, on Saturday took over Izon Wari (Ijaw House), venue of the proposed controversial meeting of former commanders of the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    The meeting which generated security concerns in the region and attracted condemnations from stakeholders was called by former militant commander, Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo.

    The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, advised the ex-militants to shelve the gathering and meet with him later on a separate day.

    Notable ex-militant commanders such as Victor Ebikabowei Ben fondly called Tompolo, Africanus Ukparasia famously called ‘General’Africa and others also condemned the proposed meeting and asked their supporters to stay away from the gathering.

    Africa specifically said: “We will not allow any individual to disrupt the peace and progress in the Niger Delta region in the name of ex-agitator. We warn against such attempts because we will resist and seriously deal with it”.

    Investigations revealed that the police deployed a detachment of armed security operatives within and around the Ijaw House, a building dedicated for activities aimed at promoting the Ijaw nation.

    A truckload of mobile policemen supported by five patrol vans of fully armed operatives were sent to the area.

    It was also observed that strategic junctions leading to the Sanni Abacha Expressway where the Ijaw House is located were manned by security men.

    As at 11am, the security operatives were seen monitoring the activities of motorists and commuters plying the area.

    But when The Nation returned to the area at 2pm, the the scheduled for the meeting to kick-off, there was no sign that the gathering would hold.

    The motive behind the deployment of policemen was unknown.

  • As Bayelsa woos investors

    When business leaders, investors, technocrats and allied stakeholders meet next week in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, for the second edition of the state’s Investment and Economic Forum, the attention would be on critical perspectives on economic diversification and the burning quest for industrialization in the state. It is also an auspicious time for the state government to brief the august gathering on its score card since the maiden edition last year, particularly on the investments generated and future possibilities.

    It has to be stated that the forum initiative is a commendable one which takes into account the nation’s vulnerable over-dependence on oil as its economic mainstay and the fact that the Bayelsa State government had been in the forefront of economic diversification before the current clamour for such idea as an inevitable course of action if Nigeria must survive now or in the future.

    But the challenge we face in economic development drive over the years is not that of policy but a decisive action plan to practically demonstrate our resolve to walk the talk and actualize our dream of economic viability with serious interest in an inclusive industrialization which is critical to the existence of a productive economy and thus effectively tackling the problem of job creation.

    This seems to be the fresh perspective which the Bayelsa State government is bringing into the mix of a calculated paradigm shift in addressing the inherent issues in economic development through an aggressive drive to woo serious investors to the state and ensuring a clement environment to do business with generous incentives.

    At a dinner with business executives in Lagos last week, the state Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment, Kemela Okara, brought the various issues and dimensions to the fore by explaining the difference which his ministry is making in making the investment landscape attractive to investors and the mutual benefits accruable to all parties. He reviewed the progress made from the maiden outing which drew over 800 participants as an avenue to showcase the investment opportunities in the state and the encouraging responses by notable investors who have already signed MoUs with the government to begin business in the state while further intensifying the clarion call for many others to come on board.

    However, in the second edition which holds from July 29 – 31, the focus, Okara said, would be to leverage on the success it had recorded by sensitizing investors to the major business areas where the state has comparative advantage like oil and gas, agriculture and power generation. The commissioner predicated the success of investment in these areas on the availability of raw materials and infrastructure, stating, for instance, that Bayelsa has the largest deposit of natural gas in the country and why power generation is being recommended to investors as a strategic move and great opportunity to add about 5,000 – 10,000 mw of power to the national grid, thereby adding fillip to the quest to transform the national economy. Okara also noted the huge potential in mechanized farming in the state with all the natural endowments as major incentives, especially in oil palm and rice processing, stressing that this is the reason why the government is bringing together large scale farmers to tap into the huge potentials which some investors are already exploiting as a lucrative business in the state.

    Yet the cornerstone of the on-going economic diversification in the state will have so much to do with industrialization. Conscious of the challenges, the state government, Okara said, will be selling the idea of its Eco Industrial Park (EPI) to the would be investors at the business summit. The EPI, as conceived by the government, is fashioned as world class 21st century model that can realistically meet the basic inter-related manufacturing needs of industrial concerns with the targets in chemical and pharmaceuticals, domestic and industrial plastics, rubber, wood and wood products, electrical and electronics, non-metallic mineral products, pulp and paper products and other manufacturing activities. Of significant value would also be the urea fertilizer plant which is being developed by the state government which Okara said would benefit those core investors who could key into its major facets of development and a major component of the nation’s agricultural needs with huge market and quite a lucrative investment. Real estate is also not left out which will place emphasis on both residential and commercial. Interestingly, some clever investors seem to be appreciating the message of the economic progress and possibilities in the state by signing MoUs with the government for business take-off including the N20 billion Kesio Building Materials Market which has about 500 stalls to create a cluster for people in the real estate just as others are participating in power generation, pharmaceuticals, telecoms, agriculture and ICT.

    This year’s edition of the business parley which has “Unfolding Bayelsa State’s Industrial Future”, Okara also informed the Lagos gathering, has attracted the participation of major private sector players like Shell Development Company, Okomu Oil Palm, PrescoPlc and Olam, among others.

    Although wooing investors is a normal step many governments have taken in the past, the difference in the Bayelsa foray is what the drivers of the initiative regard as the practical demonstration of the will to excel and help prospective investors actualize their business ideas and models in the state. The inter-related issues in this regard were well addressed by Okara when business executives and investors engaged him at the Lagos pre-event dinner, asking pertinent questions not just about the availability of natural resources but also on the critical support they hope could get from the government.

    These are very germane topics but which Okara answered by informing and assuring his audience that the Bayelsa State Government under the watch of Governor Seriake Dickson in the last three years had in addition to having invested massively in infrastructure, also worked tirelessly to create an enabling environment of stability, created institutional framework, legal structures and built relevant skills through manpower development. The major interest of government in the development of SMEs was also underscored by the disbursement of hundreds of millions of naira till date.  Thus economic diversification and industrialization had all along been in the front-burner of government economic policy which among other incentives would also encourage serious investors in the state with tax holidays and attractive Public-Private Partnership models.

    • Nnamdi wrote from Lagos.
  • Dickson lacks re-election value, Bayelsa PDP told

    Dickson lacks re-election value, Bayelsa PDP told

    •He is our best, says party elder

    A socio-political group, Bayelsa Democracy and Development Initiative (BDDI), yesterday warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against fielding Governor Seriake Dickson in the December 5 governorship election.

    The group said the party would fail woefully, if it allowed the governor to fly its flag for the election.

    But an elder statesman and a founding father of the PDP, Chief Thompson Okorotie, said Dickson remained the best candidate of the party for the election.

    The group, coordinated by a former Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan when he was Bayelsa governor, Dr. Konrad Welson, said a field research conducted by the group showed that Dickson lacked re-election value.

    According to him, before coming out with the verdict, the group interacted with people from the urban and rural areas.

    Dr Welson said the research involved men, women, students, workers, professional bodies and youths.

    He said: “We conducted a field research and survey. The findings show that a good percentage of people of the state are not favourably disposed to the re-election bid of the governor.

    “The state of affairs is the result of what the people perceive as Dickson’s failure to meet the expectations of the people who elected him in 2011, coupled with his hostile and divisive leadership style. Being the flag bearer of the PDP may lead to the loss of the party in the state.”

    The PDP chieftain claimed that the group’s interface with the political class and civil society organisations (CSOs) in the last three months revealed deep seated disdain and disappointment in the quality of leadership Dickson has offered.

    Welson said the governor’s leadership style caused acrimony in the PDP, adding that his administration had failed to offer basic amenities, such as roads, hospitals and potable water, after three and a half years in office.

    He said: “…The BDDI admonishes the main opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), not to take Bayelsans for granted by solely relying on the perceived and assumed influence of the Federal Government for their fortune at the forthcoming election.

    “The APC must work hard to present a candidate that is competent, credible and capable of governing the people.”

    The PDP chieftain advised politicians and the civil society to elect the best person to achieve social justice and good governance in Bayelsa.

    But Okorotie said the governor remained the best candidate the PDP could offer for the election.

    He said: “First, he has performed creditably, comparatively with any other governor that has ever ruled here. What he did in two and the half years is history. What has slowed down projects is purely a function of economic downturn.

    “You can only develop with money, especially when you are running a government of prudence and one that is not corrupt.

    “He (Dickson) has credibility. Apart from that, he is going into areas other governors did not have the courage to go into. For example, the three senatorial roads are federal roads. But he has gone to them. A road has reached Nembe; a road is approaching Oporoma.”

     

  • Bayelsa to create eco-industrial hub

    Bayelsa State Government is set to establish an eco-industrial hub where industrialists and investors can do their businesses conveniently.

    Director-General, Bayelsa State Investment Promotion Agency, Mrs. Ireda Bruce-Bennett, said the industrial park would be sited close to the  National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) and Shell Gas to  maximise gas and boost the manufacturing sector.

    She said the park would not only attract business owners from round the world, but also encourage genuine investors to take advantage of the available economic opportunities.

    Mrs. Bruce-Bennet spoke at a forum in Lagos where she announced the forthcoming the  state’s industrial event. It has as theme, Unfolding Bayelsa State industrial future.

    She said the state was ready to support businesses with enabling policies and environment and encouraged investors to make the state a destination of first choice.

    She said the Investment & Economic Forum (BSEIF) would focus on attracting investors that could harness the numerous economic potential of the state in furtherance of its quest to diversify its economy  and develop  the infrastructure.

    Mrs Bruce-Bennet said: “Creating a park of such magnitude will not only attract business owners around the world, but also encourage genuine investors to realise and take due advantage of the economic opportunities available. Government is ready to support businesses with enabling policies, this is in addition to creating an avenue for big conglomerates to meet with smaller and local businesses to further their economic growth and development.”

    She explained that the first economic forum produced results,adding that it opened the doors to new investors in the state.

    In her words: “Coming to Bayelsa, they saw a governor, a government and a system that was plain and transparent with policies to drive investment. It might not have brought money for us yet but this second one is about the people who are genuinely interested in business.”

    Subsequently, she added, each sector of the economy would be focused on breaking its value chain into units to enable investors access them.

  • ‘Dickson’s “empire” not crumbling in Bayelsa’

    ‘Dickson’s “empire” not crumbling in Bayelsa’

    Ordinarily, I shouldn’t have responded to the story entitled Dickson’s Crumbling Empire in Bayelsa written by the Bayelsa Correspondent of Nation newspaper on Saturday,18 July, 2015 because as we approach the governorship election in the state on December 5, I should expect more falsehood fed the media by desperate politicians who want power for the sole aim of returning the littoral state to the days of the swarming locust.  Though I am not a government spokesman but after pondering about it, I decided to do a succinct rejoinder to the obviously misleading piece which was meant to give the tenuous impression to the All Progressives Congress (APC) apparatchiks that the party is the new kid on the Bayelsa block. The news analysis couldn’t sway Bayelsa voters to the opposition either!

    First, the writer alluded to an empire built by the Countryman Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, which he averred was crumbling as a result of the so called decamping of some members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC. The governor has never had an empire and doesn’t intend to build any so I don’t know how a non-existent empire could crumble!

    In the past three and half years of Dickson’s sojourn in the Creek Haven, he has demystified governance by redefining the governance culture in the state, projected the frontiers of Ijaw national interest, stood by President Goodluck Jonathan at all times and above all, the Dickson administration has embarked on a massive infrastructural and human capital development of Bayelsans so much so that Bayelsa, the glory of all lands, has been restored to its pride of place in the comity of states. In other words, Dickson has delivered concrete developmental deliverables to Bayelsans and Ijaw nation as a whole. Under Dickson’s watch, security of life and property is a top priority of government. Our Bayelsa of today has zero tolerance for crime, criminality and corruption and this explains why all the businesses shut down by the hostile actions and inactions of the Governor Timipre Sylva Government have resurrected, leading to a boom in the business and night life of Bayelsa.

    Dickson declared a state of emergency in education and made education free and compulsory at the primary and secondary levels. Over N25 billion already spent on turning around primary and secondary education in the state. The Teachers Training Institute, several primary and model secondary schools and many more education projects are already lined up for commissioning in August.  The Dickson Government has spent over N7billion on the scholarship of post-graduate and Ph.D scholars in reputable universities abroad, the first of its kind since the creation of the state in 1996.  The beneficiaries of this scheme cut across all qualified Ijaws not necessarily Bayelsans. An audacious flyover and several roads on nylon tares have been constructed across the state. A world class diagnostic centre with a Drug Mart named after late Professor Dora Akunyili are testimony to the Dickson’s wonders in the state.  And of course, this government has provided employment for its citizens more than any one before it. Over 500 Bayelsans and still counting have been appointed into various positions in this government. In the face of the daunting credit crunch, when states with more  revenue receivables could not pay salaries, the Countryman Governor has kept a clean slate, paying salaries and pensions of all civil/public servants as and when due. With these uncommon strides in less than four years, pundits expect Dickson to roll out the drums and posture sanctimoniously with exaggerated swagger but not the Countryman. He tells those who care to listen that Bayelsa is a work in progress. And in return for the purposeful and accountable selfless leadership to the Ijaw nation, the people have resolved to stand by him like the rock of Gibraltar. The strength of Dickson is the people on whose shoulder, sovereignty lies, not the parasitic preservers of privileges that dot the polity or an empire as alluded to by the reporter. Empires come and go but human beings are constant decimal in politics. It was against this background that Dickson won a return ticket to the House of Representatives in 2011 against the wish of the iron-fisted incumbent governor, Sylva who sponsored Mr. William Ofoni against Dickson. The people made it possible for Dickson not empire. Similarly, the governor will rely on the people for re-election. Already, the clergy, the organized labour, the muslim community, market women, youth organisations and still counting have urged Dickson to throw his hat into the ring.

    In the last March and April elections, the same Sylva, in collaboration with some hawks in Abuja launched a vicious campaign against PDP, the people stood by Dickson and he trounced them. In all, Sylva lost his senatorial bid, only managed to win a House of Assembly seat for APC, his allies won a seat for APGA while the PDP swept the three senatorial seats, all the House of Representatives, 21 House of Assembly slots and of course, the presidential election.

    A cursory look at the defectors/anti Dickson elements shows clearly that over 98 percent of them have never supported Dickson’s bid to be governor. Almost all of them were either appointees under Sylva or former federal and state lawmakers imposed on the people by the Sylva government but who lost out in their return bids or in their bids to seek higher offices in the new Bayelsa. Former Senator Heineken Lokpobri, former House of Reps member, Hon Warman Ogoriba, former Commissioner for Agriculture and Chief of Staff to Government House, Chief Dikivie Ikiogha and former acting governors of the state, Hon. Werinipre Seibarugu and Hon. Nestor Ibinabo represent this tendency of defectors.  And the second category of the elements shouting ‘‘dethrone Dickson’’ are those encouraged and funded by the former first lady to supplant Dickson. The former Commissioner for Local Government under Sylva and Special Assistant on Domestic Matters to former president, Goodluck Jonathan, Hon Weripamowei Dudafa leads this pack. These same people were those that led the defunct Transformation Ambassadors of Nigerians (TAN) in Yenagoa to undermine Dickson in the build up to the last general election. The third category is made of politicians who are moving to APC to spite the former president. This group is led by the immediate past senator representing Jonathan (Bayelasa East), Chief Clever Ikisikpo and Dr. Tarila Tebepah.

    So those of us who know the antics of the politicians defecting to APC are not losing sleep. I can beat my chest that if Sylva or any of them throws his hat into the governorship ring, he will kiss the ground the way Sylva did on March 31 when Ben Bruce trounced him in the Bayelsa East senatorial contest.

    Already, the mainstream women and youth groups in the state, the clergy and Ijaw elders in Bayelsa have condemned the ambition of Sylva and the gale of defection of some Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) members to APC, many of whom were aides, appointees and associates of Sylva. The groups have consequently led the charge in the re-election of Governor Henry Dickson. Tagged Operation Retain Dickson in Creek Haven campaign, the groups particularly the elders, clergy, women and youth organisations  said they must  return Dickson to government house to prove that there is reward for hard work and selfless service to fatherland.

    At separate events, these groups endorsed the re-election of the Countryman Governor. Rising from an emergency meeting in Yenagoa last week, the elders led by the financial expert and political heavy weight, Chief Francis Duokpola cursed the APC and the PDP politicians defecting to the APC, describing them as vultures and a shame to the Ijaw nation. They wondered why a party that controversially wrested power from Dr. Jonathan, an Ijaw icon would be embraced by desperate politicians whom they describe as vultures and self-seeking. They vowed to stop APC from gaining root in Bayelsa State even as they declared; ‘‘The APC has declared war on the Ijaw nation. Right from the days of our forefathers, the Ijaws have never been conquered and our generation cannot be conquered by APC!’’

    Curiously, over 50 percent of those defecting want to govern the state at the same time. While the remaining 50 percent either pooh pooh Dickson out of petty jealousy as a result of his rising profile or for not opening the public treasury for them to loot as they had done in the past. It is no wonder that Sylva and many of them are currently undergoing trial in court. The ELECTORATE has never been with many of them and in this era of card reader, their emptiness and unpopularity will be more than ever exposed. Without the wind blowing, nobody sees the rump of the fowl and the December 5 polls is the wind that will expose their weakness!

    The politics of Dudafa and Ikiogha for example which Mr. Odiegwu harped on to high heaven is not new to Bayelsans. Two months to the 2012 governorship polls, they resigned from the Sylva government to join Dickson. Dudafa wanted to be Dickson’s running mate but couldn’t succeed. He turned against Dickson and started scheming to be governor, yet Governor Dickson compensated him with a contract to build a referral hospital in Kaiama. Chief Ikiogha, another beneficiary of government contracts parted ways with the Countryman Governor when he lost his bid to go to the National Assembly. With this short insight, is it not crystal clear that their disagreement with the governor is propelled by self and not the people? What baffled me most was the refusal of the reporter to celebrate Dickson for restoring peace and civility in the polity. Rather he dwelled so much celebrating the defectors knowing full well that many of these people are serial traitors and defectors who are trying to reposition themselves to either be governor for the fun of it or to trap favour from the federal government controlled by APC. Mr. Odiegwu knows that if the so called defection to the opposition had taken place in the days of Sylva, Boko Haram would have been imported to Yenagoa to bomb the venue of the defection as evident in 20011. It was also to the eternal glory of the Sylva administration that the presidential campaign of General Muhammadu Buhari in Yenagoa in 2011 was disrupted as the general and his team were pelted with stones.

    But the reverse was the case this year when he launched his campaign in Yenagoa. The state government provided tight security for the event to the admiration of President Buhari because a new governor with democratic ethos was in charge!

    In no distant future, the chicken will come home to roost. The governor, being a committed party man and consummate democrat will receive them back to the fold for the new Bayelsa accommodates the good, the bad and the ugly!

    Sagbama is a Public Affairs Analyst and Coordinator of Restoration Continuity, a support group for Governor Dickson’s Re-election 2015.

  • Community shuts down Shell facility in Bayelsa

    •Demands electricity  •Plant lacks capacity to feed community, says Shell

    Aggrieved residents of Koroama community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State yesterday shut down the Gbarain-Ubie Integrated Gas Plant, operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), over non-supply of electricity.

    The protesting host community barricaded the facility, insisting that the company should give the area electricity from the power supply component of the multi-million naira facility.

    The road to the facility was blocked by hundreds of youths, women and elders, who also halted work at the gas plant.

    Koloama’s paramount ruler, Chief Sabu Martins urged the aggrieved residents to remain resolute until the company grants their demands.

    Chief Martins said: “Today, I and my people are protesting to SPDC and the Federal Government. Koroama is a host community and has the largest proven gas and oil reserves in Shell’s operations in this area.

    “We have agreed that we could die here, if light, the only demand we have, is not given to us. Then, Shell will never operate on our land. We have given them time to remove their things. We want the government to intervene.”

    Also, a rights activist and founder of Agape Rights Organisation (ARO), Miss Ankio Briggs, described the demand of the host community, as modest.

    She said: “What I have heard them say today is not different from what has been said for a very long time. What they are demanding is in line with what (the late Isaac) Adaka Boro demanded.

    “This story about host communities, who I call the owners of the resources, is about self-determination. It is about corporate social responsibility (CSR). The demand is just and right.

    “I call on the Government of Bayelsa State, the Federal Government and Shell to look into the demand, although it is not the duty of Shell to provide electricity to Nigerians. But it is a social and moral obligation to their hosts.”

    But SPDC, through its spokesman, Mr. Joseph Obari, said it had difficulties meeting the electricity demand of its gas plant host communities because of limited capacity.

    Obari said: “The Bayelsa State Government is leading the discussions with Koroama community to end the blockade of SPDC project sites.

    “The community started the blockade about three weeks ago to press home their demand for free and uninterrupted power supply to the community from SPDC’s gas plant.

    “The Gbaran-Ubie Integrated Oil and Gas Plant supplies back-up power to two neighbouring communities under an agreement entered into with host communities in 2006, at the project conception stage.

    “Due to the limitation imposed by the power capacity of the plant, it has been unable to accommodate other communities’ requests to key into the power system.

    “SPDC has progressively fulfilled agreed sustainable community development projects in the community under the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU). For example, in 2014 alone, projects worth over N100 million were completed in the Gbarain/Ekpetiama Cluster, which covers Koroama.”

  • ‘Defectors from Bayelsa PDP ‘ll be disappointed’

    ‘Defectors from Bayelsa PDP ‘ll be disappointed’

    The Secretary of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Reconciliation Committee and founder of Bayelsa Development Forum (BDF), Chief Thompson Okorotie, speaks with MIKE ODIEGWU in Yenegoa, the state capital, on the gale of defections from the party and other issues.

    What is responsible for the crisis in the Bayelsa PDP?

    I will call it misunderstanding. In every family, big or small, particularly the big ones, there are bound to be misgivings, complaints, grievances at one time or the other, particularly now that it has become well established in Bayelsa state. Especially when it is election time, there are so many interests. I believe that PDP remains strong, united and that is why we have reconciliation committees at various levels and we are making sure that grievances, where they are established to be genuine, are looked into because there are some complaints that have no basis in truth. Some are fabrications, some are excuses for them to do what they want to do. There are those who are not very patient. There are those who must see themselves enjoying all the time. Some people are not used to self-sacrifice at some point. This makes the unstable politician jump ship very frequently but at the end of the day they end up damaging their political image. It s something that is happening in Bayelsa state. Even in any other place, when it is election time, there is usually a lot of tension.

    You are a member of the reconciliation committee set upby former President Goodluck Jonathan to unite the party. How far has that committee gone?

    I’m not just a member, I’m also the secretary of the committee and we are doing that work. It will not be proper to talk about the committee prior to the submission of a report, but we are working and there is a lot of progress.

    Are you not worried that some founding members of the PDP are leaving the party for the APC?

    Not all founding members are leaving. Maybe they are one or two. Founding members of the party are those who signed the document that brought about PDP in Sheraton Hotel in 1998. Call them for me. I signed the document.

    Why are the elders not supporting the governor again?

    There are some people who don’t want to have self-sacrifice at some point. But, things cannot be good for them all the time. I have been in this game for close to 40 years. I have seen many administrations having hiccups at this kind of time. At the end of the day, because of their grounded nature in terms of accomplishment, in terns of their support base, they always at the end of the day prevail. Those who miscalculate go and before you know it like the immediate past President said, they come back with empty stomachs. APC has not finished looking after their members to remember you who was a creation of PDP, developed by PDP, empowered by PDP and now you are moving. They know you and your antecedents. There are one or two people that have left us. We have to watch and see because we are still in the majority. There is no way there will be 100% at any particular time.

    The defectors have accused the state government of polarising the PDP. Do you share that view?

    I don’t share that view. The only area I see them talk about is the fact there were disciplinary actions. I think for a party, there should be disciplined. There should be party supremacy. You can’t belong to a party, even work closely with those that are in government and at election time you go out of that party to sponsor or develop candidate in parties that don’t even exist in reality in the state. That is why Article 23 of our party Constitution provides for an elders’ committee with a responsibility to go into dispute and carry out conflict resolution because at some point there will be misunderstanding because most people look at politics from their own personal viewpoint.

    Some say ‘I wanted to be this and I was not picked’. Will someone die because of that? At every time, somebody will become lucky. At every point in time, somebody will be picked. It could be destiny. Everything that is happening to somebody is not an accident, it is as proposed by God and that is why you will find some people assuming offices under very mysterious circumstances. It is God’s own wish and therefore, I’ll appeal that we should try and be patient. We should try and understand. When there is an atmosphere of reconciliation,there should also be discipline.

    So, you are supporting the expulsion and suspension of the PDP heavyweights?

    Yes, I back it. But at some point, we are also saying that if there is an opportunity to review it, we can review it in the spirit of reconciliation.

    Is governor Seriake Dickson electable for a second term?

    Very much electable. In fact,he is the best foot that PDP has for the following reasons. First,he has performed creditably, comparatively with any other governor that has ever ruled here. What he did in two and the half years is history. What has slowed project down is purely a function of economic downturn. You can only develop with money that you have especially when you are running a government of prudence especially when you are running a government that is not corrupt.

    He has credibility. Apart from that, he is going into areas other governors did not have the courage to go into. For example, the three senatorial roads, they are federal roads, but he has gone to them. Road has gone to Nembe. Road is approaching Oporoma. The one going to Ogboibiri, has gone beyond Ofoni. Our wealth is in the ocean and if our roads get to that area, we will experience development and the energy that is locked up in our rural areas will be unlocked. We are very energetic people, but inaccessibility by way of lack of road has been a problem.

    But, the governor has been accused of  embarking on many projects at the same time without considering their implications. How will you react to this?

    It is not true. The governor was carrying out projects within the limit of the funds he had. Dickson is one of the consultative governors. Go into the government house, downstairs and upstairs, people are full. He is one of the most accessible governors that we have had. In fact, some people have even told him, ‘you will die very early. Why don’t you programme some if these visitors for the deputy governor, for commissioner and all that’. He will say, ‘What will I do? Most people want to see the governor’ Accusing him of lack of consultation is not right. These people that are talking are beneficiaries of this government. They had contracts. They were paid and they had appointments. I am an elder. I’m looking for reconciliation and even  those who have are welcome back.

  • Gunmen abduct Odi committee chairman

    Odi community in Bayelsa State has been thrown into confusion following the abduction of Compensation Funds Disbursement Committee Chairman, Prof. Zibokere Daukiye by unidentified gunmen.
    The riverine community has been engulfed in crisis since 1999 when federal troops under President Olusegun Obasanjo bombarded it to avenge the gruesome murder of security operatives by youths during the militancy era.
    The community was awarded N 37.6 billion by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but was later paid N15bn by the government after negotiation.
    The N15bn compensation paid the community by the government after series of legal actions has also unsettled the people in the area following alleged diversion of a chunk of the money.
    It was gathered that Daukiye amidst controversies was appointed by stakeholders in the community to manage the disbursement of the compensation funds which had torn the people apart.
    The unknown gunmen were said to have stormed the community on Friday.
    It was gathered that they arrived the area on a speedboat through the community’s river.
    The gunmen were said to have caused panic in the community by firing staccato of gunshots into the air to scare the residents.
    Residents were said to have fled to many direction for safety as the gunmen invaded the residence of Daukiye.

  • Jonathan’s associate, others dump PDP for APC in Bayelsa

    Jonathan’s associate, others dump PDP for APC in Bayelsa

    •We’ll sweep Dickson out of office

    The Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday suffered a major setback ahead of the December 5th governorship election in the state.

    The PDP lost hundreds of its members to the APC in a carnival-like reception ceremony held at the state secretariat of the APC in Yenagoa.

    Among those who abandoned the PDP were former political office holders, appointees who served in different capacities in various PDP administrations and past party executive members.

    Also former aides, whose appointments were terminated in controversial circumstances by the incumbent Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, were among persons who joined the APC.

    They were led to the APC by a two-time member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Warman Ogoriba, who was denied the PDP ticket in the last general elections.

    Pioneer Majority Leader of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Ayiba Glover; former Secretary of the PDP and close associate of President Goodluck Jonathan, Prof. Tarila; former PDP Secretary, Sokari Jackson; former Commissioner for Environment in Dickson’s administration, Mr. Sylvanus Abila and former Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Charles Opuala were among the defectors.

    Others in the train of former political office holders who dumped the PDP are Gesiye Frank-Oputu, Abel Osuo, Nelson Belief, Samuel Boy, William Ofoni, Benjamin Yebouowei, Ayibakoro Nelson and Livingstone Egba among others.

    They were received by a former governor and leader of the APC in the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, in the presence of former Ambassador Felix Oboro, former acting governor, Chief Nestor Binabo, APC state chairman, Tiwe Orunimighe and former deputy and acting governor, Chief Werinipre Seibarugu.

    Sylva, while handing brooms, the symbol of the party, to the defectors, said the APC had come to end divisions in the state.

    Describing the APC as one family, he said he was highly privileged to welcome two persons who became acting governors during his administration to the APC.

    He said the APC would use brooms too sweep Dickson and his PDP government out of the state, adding that the PDP was already dead and was waiting for its funeral.

    He said all the people who matter in the state and the masses had joined the boat of the party, which he said is sailing to the Creek Haven Government House.

    He said with the number of people joining the APC, there is no way the party will not form the next government on February 14, 2016.

    “The APC ship has started sailing and everybody is welcome. It is the ship of unity and if you don’t get inside, you will be marooned. The PDP is dead. This Dickson’s government is dead. It is only waiting for its funeral”, he said.

    Oruminighe, in his welcome address, said he had predicted at the early stages of the APC that the party would form the next government.

    He said the Dickson government was unfriendly and deceitful, questioning the rationale behind the government’s move to reconstitute the Bayelsa volunteers.

    “Dickson has been there since, but he did not talk about Bayelsa volunteer. Now that he wants re-election, he started constituting the volunteers. Don’t be deceived,” he said.

    Referring to the APC as the only platform available in the state, he said the party would eliminate the existing classification of the people into core and fake Ijaw, and assured the new members of a level-playing field, adding that all the privileges available to old members would also extended to them.

    He, however, warned that the supremacy of the party must be upheld at all times.

    Advancing reasons for their defection, Ogoriba said the APC is the light while the PDP represents darkness.

    He said the government of the PDP in the state was based on falsehoods and too many talks without action.

    According to him, the Dickson-led government has ridiculed the people of the stage by building a “monkey bridge and walkway” in the name of a flyover.

    He said while the PDP was claiming to be unruffled by the defections of its members, it was busy calling defectors at night for reconciliation.

    “The APC is a sweet party and we are happy we have been accepted into it. We will subject ourselves to all the authority of the party. We have not come with any ambition. We have come to strengthen the party. With our presence here, the PDP has murdered sleep.”

     

  • Dickson’s crumbling empire in Bayelsa

    Dickson’s crumbling empire in Bayelsa

    Ahead of the Bayelsa State governorship election on December 5, the political landscape in the South-South state is getting saturated with drama, intrigues, accusations and counter-accusations. All eyes, as it were, are focused on the riverine state with the least population and number of local government areas but very rich in oil.

    The battle for the soul of the state has been narrowed down to the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). After years of free reign by the PDP, the APC is gradually regaining its voice in the state. The party had been kept in abeyance in the state for the six years Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, a native of Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state, was in the saddle as the President of Nigeria. Only a few members of the party, led by a former Governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, could gather enough courage to speak about the party in public.

    With the exit of the ex-President, however, the umbrella symbol of the PDP seems to be tearing apart while the APC broom gets thicker and thicker. Many of the former leaders of the PDP in the state, including founding members of the party, have been jumping the ship droves, pitching their tents with the APC. The notable defectors include a former Chief of Staff to the Bayelsa State governor, Chief Dikivie Ikiogha, who made a carnival of his defection. He is now the leading aspirant for the APC ticket. Many of the defectors have blamed their departure on the leadership style of the governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson. Others insist that the PDP, hitherto their darling party, has lost focus.

    Surprisingly, prominent politicians and former lawmakers representing Jonathan in the national and state houses of assembly were the first to call it quits with the PDP. Some of them even left before Joathan handed over the reins of power to President Muhammadu Buhari. Penultimate Friday, another major defection also hit the PDP. A two-time former member of the House of Representatives, who hails from Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, Mr. Warman Ogoriba and his supporters dumped the PDP for the APC in an elaborate ceremony that was held at the new secretariat of the APC.

    Barring any change in plan, another tsunami is set to hit the PDP. More than 200 former political office holders under the aegis of Bayelsa Peoples Patriots (BPP), consisting big names like the former Speaker and Acting Governor of the state, Chief Nestor Binabo; former Deputy Governor, Chief Werinipre Seibarugu and many other notable politicians will be joining the APC. A group of former elders of the PDP under the auspices of Bayelsa Peoples Consultative Assembly (BPCA), drawn majorly from Dickson’s Bayelsa West Senatorial District, has also concluded plans to join the APC. There are also indications that Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and former Presidential aide, Mr. Werimapowei Dudafa, may be on their way to the APC. Indeed, the APC has become the toast of former PDP leaders, is gathering momentum and may become a household name few months to the election.

    But the party also has its fair share of internal crisis arising from the ambition of Chief Richard Perekeme Kpodo, a former aide to Sylva. Kpodo has been trying to get his pound of flesh from Sylva who he accused of betraying him.

    Besides, the observers believe that the APC may be on the verge of imposition if it fails to manage the conflicting interests of the defectors that are trooping into its fold. Unless the defectors make personal sacrifices, their scrambling for space and positions, including the quest to satisfy their ambitions, may trigger costly crisis in the party.

    Already, a group of APC members, the Third Force, in a statement signed by its Spokesman, Mr. Ebideinmo Perekeme, has started stoking the fire of crisis. The statement asked the APC not to field any of the defecting politicians as its candidate for the election.

    But the state Chairman of APC, Mr. Tiwe Oruminighe, said everybody is free to aspire to any position of their choice in the party. He ruled out a consensus candidate for the incoming election, saying the party will not adopt any candidate. He said the APC ticket was open to all aspirants who must be willing to go through a strict primary election.

    The party is also up against an incumbent governor believed by a section of the state to have raised the bar on performance in the state. Already, Dickson, in spite of the cracks in his party, has asked the APC to forget the December 5 governorship poll in the state. He said the achievements of the PDP government in the state would enhance its victory at the election.

    Dickson, while addressing over 400 political appointees at the Government House in Yenagoa, said Bayelsa remained a stronghold of the PDP. He described the PDP as strong and united. Dickson noted that all Bayelsa indigenes believe in the ideals and programmes of the PDP as the only national party that had given the Ijaw people a sense of belonging by providing a platform for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to become Nigeria’s president.