Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson yesterday commiserated with All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the demise of his son, Babajide.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Francis Agbo, Dickson described the death of Jide as untimely and shocking.
The governor prayed God to grant the Tinubus the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, speaks on why Nigeria must restructure; his concerns about the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other knotty issues in the country and Bayelsa State. Mike Odiegwu, was there.
How do you view the recent clamour across the country for restructuring?
I keep saying I am not a politician of convenience whose positions will change according to changes in the weather. I am a politician of conviction and my views on this are essentially what have informed my politics, since the dawn of this democratic era from 1998 till now. I have been part of the struggles of my people. Whereas, I believe that this struggle should be pursued, through non-violent and political means, I believe that, these issues should be raised from time to time. And, therefore, my views on restructuring are very well known.
I believe that, if we want a balanced, stable and united Nigeria that will stand the test of time; we have got no option than to review the structure of the country. We have to build consensus, put our cards on the table, our fears as well as the complaints and then find a way around it. The present attitude of the Federal Government and the President to the issue of restructuring is something that I disagree with. And, unlike other politicians, I stand with my people. And, I am in politics not for myself, but for my people.
As a Bayelsan, as governor of this state, as an Ijaw man, a Nigerian from the Niger Delta, I believe that this country has to have a meeting and discuss how we can make Nigeria more stable, prosperous, and therefore, a Nigeria that can last. We love Nigeria. Those of us talking about restructuring are the true lovers of this country. There are those who feel they have advantages they want to protect, so they want a status quo maintained. In that case, you are either talking of an individual that has interest or you are talking of regional interest or an ethnic interest. You are not talking of Nigerian interest.
Agitations are normal by the way, so all this heck about agitations from South-South, South-East, I do not understand. Every country is an artificial creation. It is the duty and responsibility of leaders to rise to the occasion and rise to the responsibility of fears, so that even if those fears are imaginary, unreasonable, you explain and you engage. Up till now, our own colonial masters are still dealing with their issues of restructuring, devolution of powers to Scotland to Wales, to Northern Ireland. And last year, the Scottish had a referendum on whether they should be an independent nation or not. Heavens did not fall. Because you engage and create a platform for people to ventilate, I do not believe that you have majority of people in any part of this country that will today decide to break up this country.
As I have always said, Nigerian unity is desirable. But, do not tell me it is not negotiable. We want to be in a big prosperous strong country. But, we have to stop this issue of every year and every time people are agitating and people are dying and running away and creating unnecessary tension in the country. That is inimical to the growth of the Nigeria we love. So, when we say restructuring in Bayelsa, in the Ijaw nation, in the Niger Delta, we mean that we sit with our brothers and sisters to discuss issues of how we control our resources, what kind of federation do we have to run? This is a unitary state and that is why you have all these conflicts.
We want to be in a truly federal Nigeria and so the federal government should discuss modalities of organising not a talk shop, but I have said there should be multi-party or a bi-partisan committee, made up of officials of the Federal Government, National Assembly, because in the end, you are going to talk about a constitutional review. All these talk about true federalism will end in the National Assembly. So, the leadership of the National Assembly, state governors, speakers representing the various state parliaments, the leaderships of the major political parties and other selected interest groups will meet behind closed doors and agree on the issues we need to address now. You do not need to address everything.
Do you foresee the PDP relaunch itself as a force to reckon with at the national level?
After our governorship election, because of what we went through in the hands of the party at the centre, I was very serious about rebuilding the party to take over power at the centre and everyone knows what I did. I did everything to build consensus. But, there are forces within the PDP that are against a cohesive and strong PDP that can take power at the centre but these forces are surmountable if party leaders eschew selfishness and bitterness and work for the interest of PDP. I pray that the party overcomes or realizes the need to overcome these forces within the PDP that are placing selfish ambition and ego above the need to build a strong party.
I pray that, the party survives these internal forces. I have always believed that this country needs two strong parties, a strong cohesive party in government, which incidentally the APC is not, but we should also pray for the APC to get their acts together. But the tragedy of our democracy today is that we neither have a strong party in government nor a strong party in opposition. Clearly Nigeria needs a strong party in opposition and I agree with what the former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, said few days ago, when he said that, the PDP has disappointed because it has not proven to be a strong party in opposition. That is very sad, because I am essentially an opposition man and I am very comfortable being in opposition. There are not many governors who can survive the type of election I survived in this state. I believe that my party has a lot of work to do, we should pray for it, so that the country can have a real taste of two strong parties. That is all I can say.
People have expressed concerns about military operations in Nigeria. What is your take on the ongoing Operation Crocodile Smile II in the Niger Delta region?
I would not speak for the military authorities who are organising that exercise. That is a military exercise. The state government is not involved in it, but as the governor of the state, the commanders have come to explain a few things to me. Once the military want to do anything in this state, I tell them to brief me and I ask them to be as professional as they can be. This state has been very peaceful as a result of the collaboration and the hard work of all the security forces. The security services and the military have been a component of that success story and I give all of them credit for it.
In my view, the military have their job to do and if in their judgment they think that an operation helps them train themselves and prepare for situations, real or imagined; for me, I think that an exercise, which involved going round creeks in a show of force, has the advantage of scaring away the bad guys and limiting the movements of these people who do not care about the lives and property of the people. I recall that some weeks ago, there were cases of piracy in some local government areas. So, professionally conducted exercises like this, in my view, has a way of impacting directly on the safety and security ratings of the state. I have listened to the military officers and the exercise in this respect has my support and I call on all in Bayelsa to also support them.
Your administration has been talking about civil service reform, what does it really mean and what have you achieved with it?
This is one key area that we have been doing a lot of work since 2012. You are all aware of how we have worked so hard to reduce the wage bill, blocking the leakages and wastage because in this state we need every kobo to be put into development. After paying salaries, we barely have N5m left and we have a very low IGR base, which we have raised from between N60million and 70million to about N500million and N600million. But that is nothing compared to what other states are receiving. States around us are raking in N10billion monthly and some about N6billion, but our IGR is nothing to write home about, because the companies are not here and our people do not pay tax except those in the public service.
Therefore, this state needs to be very prudent, which is what we are doing. Some people may misunderstand it, but we are in need of development and I need every kobo that comes into this state to go into development and it is in the same line that we are asking for support, in terms of further solving the challenges of leakages and wastages in the salary system in our state. Currently, we have been able to bring down our wage bill to about N3.8bn every month, but we think that is still too high; that is why I want to commend genuine civil servants, who are going to work and are doing very well; teachers, especially the secondary school teachers, who have done so well. That is why, our rating now in all national examinations is improving, but there are still some black legs in the public service and we want to fish them out.
Look at the sacrifices our primary school teachers are making, a number of them in some local governments have not been paid for several months. The ones affected most are in Ogbia Local Government and we have checked and we now know what has happened. People have just been putting names of fake people, non-academic staff, teachers, who do not go to work. In all our primary schools, we have very pathetic situations, not only because of the delays in payments of salary. All these have to stop. After this reform, one of the areas that I will put a stop to is the issue of non-payment or delay in payment of salaries of primary school teachers.
That nonsense has to stop in this state this year. That situation is so, because in almost all the schools you have one headmaster, few teachers and then you have over 40 non-academic staff getting paid for doing nothing, for not even going to work. The money that ought to have been used for the payment of genuine teachers’ salary is being used to service other people, so teachers end up being short changed. That has to stop. We are formulating a policy which, I will announce in no distant time.
THREE governors, one senator, two professors and Confederation of African Football (CAF) chief yesterday identified post-primary school education as a critical step to guaranteeing a stable and prosperous future for Nigeria.
Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode; Bornu State Governor Kashim Shettima and Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson said a well-developed secondary school education system would stem the tide of militancy, insurgency and instability threatening some parts of the country.
They spoke in Lagos on ‘Raising a wise generation: Revamping Nigeria’s secondary education’ at a colloquium organised by Government College Ughelli Old Boys Association (Class of September 73).
The event was chaired by Nigeria’s first female Vice-Chancellor Grace Alele Williams (former VC, University of Benin). Senator Oluremi Tinubu was special guest of honour.
Other guests and speakers included the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ish-aq Oloyede; Chairman, Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick, Prof. John Pepper Clark, his brother Ambassador B. A. Clark and Independent Chairperson of the Nigerian Women Football League (NWFL) Aisha Falode.
The event also featured a fundraiser for a proposed N500 million technology centre at the college to groom pupils on entrepreneurial skills.
Chief host and special guest of honour, Ambode, who was represented by Special Adviser on Education Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said secondary education is a critical stage in the education ladder “because it builds on the foundation laid at the primary level and also prepares students for the challenges of tertiary education”.
He lamented the decline in education standards from what obtain in pre and early post-independence years.
“The questions that come to mind on occasions such as this are: where and how did we get it wrong?
“What is clear, however, is that the level to which our secondary education and by extension the education sector generally has degenerated, did not happen in one day.
“It has been a progressive decline as a result of a combination of factors. The most talked about is inadequate funding,” Ambode said.
The governor noted that revamping secondary education to raise a wise generation will require paying attention to “physical infrastructure to guarantee a conducive learning environment, provision of modern learning materials and equipment, competent and well-motivated teachers; and a curriculum whose content must be capable of imparting the right skills relevant to the needs of the 21st century”.
The governor observed, however, that “funding alone will not guarantee the desired results if it is not complemented with strategic planning driven by creative and innovative ideas”.
He explained that the launch of “Code Lagos”, “which would ensure that a million Lagosians will learn how to code in three years”, was part of his government’s effort to boost the quality of education.
Shettima, who focused on girl-child education, lamented that the poor secondary education standard in the Northeast had multiple and wide ranging effects on the human development index.
Shettima noted that terror group Boko Haram understood the importance of modern education that was why it forbade it.
He said: “Boko Haram destroyed a total of 5,600 classrooms in Bornu State alone and they produced a total of 54,911 widows and 52,311 orphans.
“We have no option as leaders but to invest in the education of our youths, because these orphans and widows, if we fail to take care of them, in 10 to 15 years, they will become the Frankenstein monster that will destroy all of us.”
Dickson said the militancy in his part of the Niger Delta started seeing a marked reduction following extensive investment in developing post-secondary school infrastructure.
“When I took over, there was not a single boarding school in Bayelsa State. If you’re wondering why some places have issues of militancy, insurgency, instability, criminality, unemployability and other similar crises, you just need to look at the state of and investment in education.
“When I became governor in 2012, standing on the podium at my inaugural speech, I declared a state of emergency on education. When I came down, a lot of my friends told me I had destroyed my government. ‘Where are you going to get the money to fund such a weighty declaration?’ For me, it was a question of priority.
“Now in Bayelsa, we have almost 15 model boarding schools. We also set up our flagship secondary school, the Ijaw National Academy, with over 1,000 students. All of them are on state government scholarships. We selected the best boys and girls from all the primary schools, irrespective of the background, capacity or pedigree of their parents, in all the Ijaw speaking areas along the coastline of Nigeria from Ondo to Awka Ibom.”
Senator Tinubu urged Nigerians to invest in improving education standards across the country, as no government could do it alone.
She said: “Many of us are dissatisfied with the state of education in Nigeria today. Indeed, those who understand the full ramifications, of defective, incomplete, non-competitive or non-existent education will be appalled. Already, it has been noted that due to inaccessibility of education and high incidences of drop outs, Africa lacks a critical mass of skilled labour.
“Beyond the inaccessibility of formal schooling, we must also avert our minds to the quality of our schools.
“We should be concerned about the nexus between the type, structure and standard of education in our country on the one hand and the quality of the students that graduate from our schools on the other hand.
“We should concern ourselves with the curriculum and the need for relevant, current, useful and globally competitive education. We must also pay attention to the state of infrastructure, staffing, teacher training, and enrollment capacity vis-a-vis total population; the integrity of our examinations and the resultant certifications they confer.
Prof. Williams urged the elite to focus on assisting teachers to upgrade their skills so they can impart world-class education on pupils.
•Lagos empowers 2,613 women entrepreneurs with N2.1b
GOVERNORS Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Seriaki Dickson (Bayelsa) and Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti) have hailed the contributions of women to the society and nation-building.
They spoke at the opening of the 17th National Women Conference organised by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) in Lagos with the theme: “She creates, she transforms”.
The governors took turns to celebrate the doggedness, dexterity and creativity of women and their notable contributions towards building a better society.
In his goodwill message at the event, Ambode lauded the resilience of women in their different spheres, noting that women are naturally-gifted with skills and talents that make positive difference and impact on their generation.
He said: “Our women are constantly creative; making something out of nothing. Creativity has become very essential to succeed in today’s world because we face new challenges everyday – at home and at work. As the woman creates and transforms, she positively impacts the family, the workplace and the nation.
“With the female population in our country today, it is clear that our women have the capacity to positively affect the Nigerian economy and are already doing so.”
He was optimistic that the conference, aside celebrating the resilient and dynamic nature of women under diverse situations, would go a long way to unleash the creative and transformative energies of more women.
Ambode, who restated his administration’s commitment to supporting female entrepreneurs, added that as at September 2017, no fewer than 2,613 female entrepreneurs, who run Medium and Small Scale businesses have been funded through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund to the tune of N2.1 billion, assuring that more would be given before the end of the year.
The governor congratulated the first female mechanic, Sandra Aguebor, who was presented with the Inspirational Woman of the Year Award, saying she had dared to succeed in a career many see as a sole reserve for men.
Emmanuel, who was guest of honour, lauded COWLSO Chairman and Lagos State Governor’s wife Mrs. Bolanle Ambode for sustaining and improving the COWLSO conference, which started 17 years ago.
The governor said there was need for women as liberator of the world to be appreciated by every man for their contributions to growth at all times.
On the theme of this year’s conference, Emmanuel urged women to live their lives by creating and transforming people and things around them without minding the shortcomings, adding that it was important for them to keep hope alive.
Also, Dickson said the role of women in transforming life could not be under-estimated, saying that it was imperative for women to always be appreciated and celebrated.
Dickson and Obaseki hailed Lagos State for the initiative, saying that they would replicate same in their states for the benefit of women.
On his part, Fayose said life without women would be full of crises, saying that it was important for women to be given opportunity to be in the drivers’ seat in the country.
In her welcome address, Mrs. Ambode urged women to speak up against the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation, saying that the campaign must start from the home-front, churches, mosques, offices and the communities.
Mrs. Ambode said: “Female genital mutilation is evil, it is wicked, it is anti-social and unjustifiable. In fact, it is a crime against women. We must devote time for enlightenment and awareness, especially among uneducated mothers. We must stand together against it, until the practice is totally eradicated in our country and the world.”
She urged woman to resist the temptation of pursuing economic empowerment at the expense of taking good care and paying attention to their children, stressing that children who do not enjoy parental care, easily grow to become potentially dangerous youths and threatening the peace of the society.
“The rising trend of leaving the girl-child entirely in the care of housemaids, neighbours or strangers in pursuit of income or for flimsy reasons, should be discouraged.
“We must desist from and discourage child-labour, child-abuse and fight child trafficking with all our strength. We owe it a duty to give good parenting to our children and indeed all other children put in our care. We must give them hope and allow them see the positive side of life, as a way of bringing back good morals and societal stability,” Mrs. Ambode said.
In her keynote address, the Vice President’s wife Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo urged women to work hard to transform their children and wards into greatness and create a safe and secured society by inculcating the right virtues in their children.
She particularly urged the womenfolk to draw inspiration from women who had performed creditably well in their chosen profession, and endeavour to leave their footprints on the sands of time.
Mrs. Osinbajo said women must speak up against rape and all forms of abuse against women and children, and also speak in defence of the downtrodden and less-privileged in the society.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of the Inspirational Woman Award Mrs. Aguebor by Mrs. Osinbajo and the unveiling and beautiful rendition of the COWLSO anthem.
Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has felicitated with former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), for attaining 83 years last week.
He described Gowon as a symbol of national unity and great stabiliser.
Dickson also paid glowing tributes to Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme on the occasion of his 85th birthday.
While describing him as a quintessential statesman and fine gentleman, the governor said Ekwueme remains steadfast and solid at 85.
In a statement by Francis Ottah Agbo, Dickson asked God to keep the two elderstatesmen in good health so that the younger generation of leaders can continue to tap from their fountain of knowledge and wisdom.
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday visited his colleague in Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson.
They were in a closed meeting.
Wike said their discussions centred on fostering stronger ties between Rivers and Bayelsa.
He said they were concerned about the security of life and property, Southsouth integration, political and economic ties, among others.
Wike hailed his counterpart for his outstanding performance in transforming Bayelsa and expressed his commitment to work with him to ensure regional integration, socio-economic and political ties.
The Rivers governor, who was accompanied by former Acting National Chairman of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Uche Secondus, praised Dickson for building a modern Governor’s Office.
He said PDP and Ijaw nation were proud of Dickson’s performance, which endeared him to Niger Delta people and others.
Wike said: “First of all, I’m not surprised because Dickson was prepared for the office. So, you can see the result. When you are prepared to sit for an exam, certainly you will pass well.
“So, what I have seen today, he has made PDP proud. He has also made the people of Bayelsa State, the Ijaw and Niger Delta proud. Look at the edifice, (Governor’s Office), it was not there before.
“I’m so happy. In fact, I was telling him that I thought we have an office, but with what I’ve seen today, I think I’d better have a rethink and see what I’m going to do to my office when I return to Port Harcourt.”
Dickson thanked Wike for the visit, which he noted marked the beginning of closer interaction to deepen relationship between the two states.
He said the meeting deliberated on how to intensify security and developmental issues in the best interest of the people of Southsouth, particularly Rivers and Bayelsa.
Praising Wike for his achievements, Dickson enjoined Rivers people to sustain their support for the his administration.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday paid a surprised visit to his Bayelsa State counterpart, Seriake Dickson and met with him behind closed doors.
Wike, who later emerged from the meeting and exchanged banters with Dickson, said their discussions centred on fostering stronger ties between Rivers and Bayelsa.
He said they were concerned about the security of lives and property in the two states, South South integration, political and economic ties among others.
He commended Dickson for his outstanding performance, in transforming Bayelsa and expressed his desire to work closely with him to ensure regional integration, political and socio-economic development.
Wike, who was accompanied by the former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, particularly commended Dickson for building a state-of-the-art complex as a new Governor’s Office.
He said the PDP and the Ijaw nation were proud of Dickson’s performance in office, adding that had endeared him to the people of Niger Delta and beyond.
He said: “First of all, I’m not surprised because Dickson was prepared for the office and so you can see the results. When you are prepared to write an exam, certainly you will pass very well.
“And so what I have seen today, he has made PDP proud. He has also made the people of Bayelsa State, the Ijaw nation and Niger Delta proud. Look at the edifice, (new Governor’s Office), it was not there before.
“I’m so happy. In fact, I was telling him, that I thought we have an office but with what I have seen today, I think I’d better have a re-think and see what I’m going to do to my office when I return to Port Harcourt.”
On his part, Dickson expressed gratitude to Wike for the visit, noting it marked the beginning of closer interactions between the two sister states.
According Dickson, the duo also deliberated on how to intensify security and developmental issues in the best interests of the people of the South-South region and particularly Rivers and Bayelsa.
The Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, on Thursday nominated caretaker committees’ chairpersons for the eight local government areas of the state.
The governor sent the nominees’ list to the state House of Assembly for screening and confirmation.
The nominees, whose names were read on the floor of the House by Speaker Kombowei Benson are – Michael Magbisa for Sagbama local government area and Tolu Amatu for Ekeremor.
Others are – Victor Isaiah (Brass), Chief Befie Inemo (Nembe), Oforji Oboku (Yenagoa), Nigeria Kia (Southern Ijaw), Naomi Ogoli (Ogbia) and Wisdom Fafi (Kolokuma/Okokuma).
The nominees were directed to appear before the House on October 11 for screening and confirmation.
Dickson also said his government had commenced a comprehensive public sector reform as part of measures to make the system more viable for rapid growth.
The governor’s intention was disclosed shortly after the 80th State Executive Council meeting in Yenagoa.
The state’s new Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the decision to begin the reforms was hinged on the desire of the government to inject more life into the public sector.
The former Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, at the weekend, appealed to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s kinsmen in Ogbia Local Government Area to support the governor.
Iworiso-Markson, a commissioner-designate, said the governor had done well in developing human capacity through massive investment in education and manpower development.
The former spokesman, who was a special guest of honour at the first Ogbia students’ conference with the theme, Education as the Panacea for National Development, spoke on a topic, “Dangers of Hard Drugs and Cultism”.
Iworiso-Markson, whose speech was delivered by a surveyor, Mr. Eteli Tuanam, said that Dickson was investing massively in the educational sector by building schools and renovating old ones.
He said: “A good example is the Ijaw National Academy (INA) in Kaiama. The school has, among other things, 1,000 students and a British principal. Everything and without mincing words everything is free. From textbooks to food, just name them”.
“So you can see clearly that through Governor Dickson’s massive investment in education, the government is helping to prepare a new generation of leaders that will help impact on the society positively”.
He commended Dickson for his educational policy designed to empower youths with the requisite knowledge to enable them take charge of their future.
Iworiso-Markson added that everywhere in the world education is a potent tool to fight ignorance, poverty and other social vices.
He said Ogbia Youths were not left behind in the governor’s educational revolution and called on all Ogbia youths to rally round their leaders to support the Dickson government to succeed.
He lamented that hard drugs and cultism constituted two major social vices prevalent among young people in the society.
The ex-media aide stressed that hard drugs and cultism have become a menace and destroyed lives, careers and future, urgeing the students to stay away from them and focus on achieving their goals.