The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dickson

  • Dickson to APC: join me to develop Bayelsa

    Dickson to APC: join me to develop Bayelsa

    It’s time for the opposition, especially those in the All Progressives Congress (APC), to join in the building of Bayelsa State, Governor Seriake Dickson has said.

    The governor appealed to the opposition to forget political differences and join him in building a better state.

    A statement yesterday in Yenagoa, the state capital, by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, quoted the governor as saying it was time for Bayelsa residents to key into his administration’s Restoration Agenda.

    Dickson extended a hand of fellowship to APC members, asking them to close ranks with his administration in actualising the vision of the Restoration Agenda.

    The governor spoke at the state’s Monthly Praise Night at the Palace of Melchizedek, in Toru Orua, his hometown in Sagbama.

    Dickson said his political opponents still remained brothers and sisters, adding that Bayelsa State required all stakeholders, irrespective of party affiliations, to enable it make progress.

    Insisting that the task of developing the state was a collective responsibility, the governor said Bayelsa was having too many distractions and divisions at a time the country was grappling with daunting economic challenges.

    He said since power comes from God, he would overcome his tribulations by the grace of God, as evident in the verdict of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

    Dickson urged APC stalwarts to use their contacts to bring federal appointments and projects to the state, instead of embarking on divisive tendencies.

    The governor criticised the non-inclusion of Bayelsa indigenes at the federal level, in line with the Federal Character principle.

    He said Bayelsa State deserved adequate representation because it contributes immensely to the national economy.

    Dickson thanked the residents for supporting his administration.

    The governor enjoined them to pray for the government and the nation.

     

  • Force won’t stop militancy, says Dickson

    Force won’t stop militancy, says Dickson

    Force won’t quell Niger Delta militancy, Bayelsa State Governor  Seriake Dickson said yesterday.

    Dialogue and negotiations, he stated, were the way out, in apparent reaction to the military hierarchy’s threat to use force if ongoing talks with the militants faild.

    Speaking with State House correspondents in Abuja after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Dickson said military invasion would be futile in the Niger Delta terrain.

    He said: “I have said that the issues in the Niger Delta, the terrain, the historic nature of the issues and challenges are such that military solution may not be the way forward. ?For us who are products of the political system who are at this level, we have a duty to mobilise communal and local leadership. We have a duty to support the work intelligence and security agencies are doing; we have a duty to ensure that issues are better appreciated and that we fill the communication gap.

    “And where there are issues those issues need to be addressed and it is also our duty to network like I’m doing to ensure that problems that are identified as the root cause of some of these challenges are looked into. The military solutions as I have always maintained is not the right option, we are hopeful that the ongoing discussions will yield the desired result. I have always been in support of negotiations, of dialogue as the sustainable way forward. Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around these common issues to move our country forward.”

    Dickson hailed the President for not interfering in Bayelsa politics, urging the public to ignore those linking him (Buhari) to attempts to rubbish his chances during the state governorship election few months ago.

    He said: “I also want to use this opportunity to appreciate Mr. President for his non-interference in the political processes that played out in Bayelsa in the last governorship elections. And as you are also aware?, yesterday (Tuesday) the Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja delivered judgement upholding my election and affirming my emergence as a true product of the democratic exercise of rights of our people in theDecember 5, 2015 and January 9 polls.

    “Again, I want to use this opportunity to appreciate? Mr. President for his non-interference contrary to the propaganda and the name dropping that some politicians back home and even in Abuja embarked upon. There is no name they didn’t call; there is no claim that they didn’t make but I’m telling Nigerians, I’m telling Bayelsans to disregard all that propaganda. The President never had anything to do by way of negatively influencing  the last general elections in Bayelsa and also the outcome of the tribunal proceedings.

    “That is important because if our nation must move forward, if our democracy must be strengthened, if our nation must move forward, if our democracy must be strengthened, if our nation must be stable, then institutions must be allowed to grow”.

    The governor implored his opponent sduring the election, Timipre Sylva and others, to join him to render service to Bayelsa people and build a stronger, more stable and prosperous Bayelsa.

    He added: “I came in this afternoon to have discussions with Mr. President. That is because my position has been and I believe that is the right position every political leader should take which is that after general elections political leaders and citizens must unite and address common issues and find solutions to the problems of our country.

    “All over the world, once nations have a crisis, once nations come under attack, leaders unite across political lines. And I came in to have discussion with Mr. President and I thank him for that opportunity and we cross fertilised ideas around issues of security.

    “Of course as you know Bayelsa is central to the maintenance of law and order and stability in our country particularly in the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa is the epicentre of the issues that has to do with the Niger Delta.

    “And we had fruitful discussions on the need for political leaders, governmental and political leaders to work together to support the work of the security agencies and foster better understanding of even people who have grievances  and that we are committed to do together.”

    Dickson expressed optimism that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would emerge stronger from its crisis.

    He said: “There is no doubt that our nation needs a political party in opposition; strong, organised opposition. Opposition that plays by the rule, that knows that there comes a time when people across divides must unite for the sake of our country. And we are working hard to ensure that some of the issues and disputes in the party are resolved. You expect to see those types of issues and disputes in any political party? and we are working hard to address them. And we believe that the convention will come and go and we will have a virile, credible opposition party that will work for our democracy and our the Nigerian nation.”

  • ASUU lambasts Dickson for establishing new university

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), yesterday, took a swipe at the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, for abandoning the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) to establish a private university christened, ‘the African International University.’

    The lecturers further lamented months of unpaid salaries of lecturers, underfunding of NDU and a deliberate design by the governor to “kill” the state-owned university because of his new university.

    The NDU chapter of ASUU spoke on Friday during at a press conference at the NDU’s Faculty of Law Campus in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.

    Flanked by some lecturers of the university, the Chairman, ASUU, NDU chapter, Dr. Stanley Ogoun, said the passage of the bill to establish AIU, under a public-private partnership arrangement, to be sited at Toru Orua, Dickson’s hometown, was a calculated move to destroy the state-owned institution.

    Ogoun said it was unimaginable that a government that failed to adequately fund the NDU could mute the idea of establishing a new university under a partnership arrangement via counterpart funding with a promise to make it better than NDU.

    He faulted the claims that the new university was a PPP project insisting that the process for setting up such an institution was surrounded by secrecy and suspicion.

    He said Dickson used the House of Assembly to speedily make law without public hearing on the new university to quickly procure a license from the National University Commission (NUC) through the backdoor.

    He said: “The first poser is the issue of timing. Is this an auspicious time for a policy thrust like this, considering the state government’s failure to pay salaries spanning into several months?

    “Who truly owns this African University (who are the private promoters)? Why is the Governor of Bayelsa State, the Visitor to a supposed private-sector driven university?  Why are the supposed ‘investors’ faceless?

    “What is the percentage of equity holding by the Bayelsa State Government and that of the supposed ‘investors’ in the PPP arrangement?

    “We know that all universities are established by a single law, and therefore, if the African University is private sector driven (which implies a private sector majority shareholding), why should it be the responsibility of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to pass the law (legal instrument) setting up the university? Why must a private sector led company be established by a Bayelsa State Government law?”

    The ASUU Chairman sought to know why the faceless “investors” involved in the PPP arrangement could not put together the legal instrument required for the operating license of NUC.

    He wondered why the identities of the unknown private investors were not listed in the bill establishing the new university.

    Ogoun also wondered why the state Assembly passed the bill with an unprecedented speed, within 24 hours, describing it as the fastest bill to become law in the history of legislation in the country.

    He said that the bill establishing the university is a prototype of the NDU law 2000 as amended in 2004, noting that the NDU Law 2000 was copiously plagiarised.

    He called on all Bayelsans, the Ijaw nation and the general public to be vigilant and kick against any fraudulent intent that would enslave the masses.

    The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said the new university was an idea conceived by private investors who wanted the state partnership.

    Obuebite in a statement said, “We announced the intention of the State Government to engage the private sector to float a new university to be named the African University.

  • PDP crisis: How Ekweremadu, Dickson, others brokered peace

    PDP crisis: How Ekweremadu, Dickson, others brokered peace

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson played vital roles in the resolve of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to hold a new convention, it was learnt last night.

    A source said the first of the reconciliation meetings between the two factions were held last Monday.

    The first meeting between representatives of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi began on Monday. The meeting had in attendance Ekweremadu, Dickson, House Minority leader Leo Ogor; former Deputy President of the Senate, Ibrahim Mantu and Senator Buruji Kashamu.

    “The discussions at the meeting were frank and tough. Eventually, we were able to bring together the two leaders, Sheriff and Makarfi, at the Taraba State Governor’s Lodge, with Senator Ekweremadu sitting between them,” said the source.

    The second meeting began last Tuesday around 11 am and lasted till the early hours of Wednesday. It had in attendance Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State; Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Minority leader of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio; Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate, Biodun Olujinmi; Senator Suleiman Adokwe from Nasarawa State; Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jubrin and Kashamu.

    At the meeting, Sheriff and Makarfi agreed not to contest the national chairmanship. They agreed that an expanded National Caucus meeting should be held and that a National Convention Committee (NCC) be set up within a week and the NCC would run the party till the National Convention is held.

    “They agreed that a date be fixed for the National Convention within a month. They also agreed to address the nation and members of the party at the National Convention.  In effect, the two leaders showed they have the interest of the party at heart.

    “The only point of divergence was who should preside over expanded the National Caucus meeting and constitute the National Convention Committee,” the source said.

    It was proposed that they co-chair the expanded National Caucus meeting and jointly constitute the National Convention Committee.

  • Students, workers kick against Dickson’s disposition to state varsity

    The only Bayelsa State-owned university, the Niger Delta University (NDU), is in dire straits. The institution located at the Wilberforce Island Amasoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, has been shut down since April, 2016 following the inability of the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to manage his financial obligations to the school.

    All categories of workers in the university are on strike. Dickson has been unable to pay them their salaries for about seven months. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT),  the Non Academic Staff of Universities (NASU), have all downed tools.

    But at the receiving ends of this industrial dispute are the students whose academic activities and future aspirations have been suspended indefinitely. The devastated students were driven out of school. Many of them roam the streets while others engage in menial jobs for survival.

    The students of NDU have however, reacted to the statement credited to Dickson that the institution should seek ways of funding itself. The governor recently in a meeting told the Governing Council of the school to stop depending on the state government for its funding.

    After the meeting, a statement sent through the office of Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the governor insisted that his administration would no longer sustain the existing funding system because of the present poor financial situation of the state.

    The governor said a situation where the state government’s monthly subvention of about N480million was spent on recurrent expenditure was unsustainable. He expressed concern over the bogus wage bill of the university and the need for its  leadership to be prudent in the use of funds.

    But investigations by the Niger Delta Report indicated that the students are angry with the governor accusing him of trying to privatize the only university in the state.

    Jeremiah is a student of Biological Science Department. Following the strike, he turned to vending newspapers on the streets of Yenagoa for survival. “Since there is no job for us (students), I have to go to the streets. I am now a vendor. I hawk newspapers for ends to meet’’, he said.

    He also said it was wrong for the governor to relinquish the financial commitments of the state government to NDU. He said sending the management of the university to revenue-generating spree would make the school unaffordable and inaccessible to Bayelsans. He said such attempt would place heavy financial burdens on the students, many of whom came from poor backgrounds.

    “It is a state university. That alone means that it needs to be taken care of by its owner. It is not a private school, neither is it a federal school. Hence, by law the state should fund it.

    “NDU can generate 20% of its required resource. It can actually get funds from hostel fees. The school workshop that can also produce furniture for sales and the school football team can go out for competitions, but it would not be enough to sustain the needs of the school’’, he said.

    He further said that NDU would be extinct if the government stuck to its gun that it must fund itself. “Bayelsa is a developing state. We know the governor wants to make NDU self-sufficient but his approach is drastic and irrational.

    “We cannot start building a house from the roof. He has to share his vision, ideas, and strategies to the workers, then they can work with him”.

    To Angilia, a student of the Department of English and Literary studies, asking the school to fund itself in a state where the government has no strong Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) base was an indirect way of keeping the school permanently closed.

    She said: “The Strike has delayed our academic calendar. By now we should have gone far. Now we sit at home with no hope of going back to school. I have therefore resorted to menial jobs. I do house-keeping for a staff’s quarter of one engineering firm.

    “it is not a good time to ask a university like NDU to fund itself considering the present economic crisis. While we were still in school, some students could not meet up with their financial demands. This new IGR drive will definitely lead to increase in fees that will consequently lead to dropouts. We appeal to the Bayelsa Governor to put himself in the shoes of the workers and students and work a way out”.

    Another student of the Department of Political Science, Gesi, said it was impossible for NDU to fund itself. He said the school required time to grow and develop to the level of catering for its financial needs.

    Gesi, who said he resorted to performing in shows for survival, added that any attempt to shift the financial burden to the school management would have adverse effects on the students, their parents and the state’s education.

    He wondered why the governor was talking about financial autonomy at a period he declared emergency in education.

    “NDU would need more time to fund itself. This new IGR drive will be a weapon to ruin the purse of parents and the destruction of the academic pursuit of the student. Fees will be increased and eventually faculties that cannot meet up financially will be scrapped.

    ‘’Within this short period, I have heard of robbery cases and also a murder case that involved the students of NDU. I therefore appeal to both parties, the school authorities and the government, to reconsider their stand”, he said.

    While Eto, a student of the Department of Computer Science asked the governor to jettison his plan, Emmanuel of the Department of History and Philosophy said: “The strike has not been anything close to positive as it has awarded me an automatic extra year in the institution.

    “We Niger Delta University will need time to generate enough funds. We appeal to the governor to do his duty by paying the workers of NDU to enable us return to school”.

    Furthermore, workers in NDU said it was hypocritical and illusory for the governor to have asked the university to fund itself when Bayelsa as a state could not generate internal revenue to sustain itself.

    The workers vowed to keep the university shut until the state Governor, Dickson, pays them four out of the about seven-month salaries he owes them.

    The aggrieved employees under the auspices of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT),  and the Non Academic Staff of Universities (NASU), took the decision in a meeting they held recently in Yenagoa.

    The angry workers also warned the government against any plan to sack any of them insisting that they would only return to work after the full payment of their four-month salaries. The chairmen of SSANU, Mr. Fakidouma Wilcox; NAAT, Mr. Dienagha Ekepet, and NASU, Mr. Kenneth Akpafegha of NASU, attended the meeting.

    The unions said: “We frown at the state governor’s decision to pay academic staff and technical workers of the university while vowing not to pay the senior and junior staff until the workforce is downsized.

    “Going by the National University Commission (NUC) employment ratio of 4:1 in the university, NDU is understaffed. Therefore, the governor should not think of downsizing as his action will be met with a brick wall.

    “We will not suspend the sit-at-home order until at least four months salaries are paid in full to our members and we will withdraw our members on essential duties after one week if the government does not comply.

    “We wonder why a government who has been boasting of declaring a state of emergency in the educational sector should allow the death of the only state university in the state which has so far turned out over 14,882 graduates since its inception thereby changing the educational fortunes of the state as an educationally-disadvantaged state.”

    But the governor said he had released funds for the payment of the workers’ January salaries and called on them to suspend their strike. Dickson who spoke through his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said the government was commuted to the welfare and the development of NDU.

    He said: “The Bayelsa State Government has met its agreement of releasing 100% of the January salary to ASUU, NASU and graduate assistants as requested by the unions. So, as we speak, that payment has been made.

    “We are all aware that NDU is our pet project, as it is the only state-owned university. So, this government is committed to the welfare of the academic and non-academic staff, as well as the students community of NDU. We want our students to return to school and pursue their academics.”

  • Ripples as Dickson extends services of retired HoS, Perm Sec

    Stakeholders are angry with the decision of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to extend the services of the state’s retired Head of Service (HoS), Dr. Peter Singabele and Permanent Secretary, Mr. Joseph Akedesuo.

    The governor extended Singabele’s appointment as Head of Service by six months and Akedesuo who is the Head of the state’s Protocol Service by one year. The governor’s action is breeding bad blood among the permanent secretaries and other senior civil servants. They are grumbling and accusing Dickson of violating the civil service rules.

    A statement sent through the office of Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson said the extension was in exercise of the governor’s executive powers.

    The statement quoted the Secretary to the state Government, Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff as saying that the extension was informed by the numerous important ongoing service related issues being handled by Singabele.

    It said allowing the retried Singabele “to leave the service now” could be detrimental to the administration’s programme of repositioning the civil service for greater efficiency.

    The governor in the state also extended the appointment of Mr. Joseph Akedesuo as a Permanent Secretary and Head of State Protocol services for a period of one year.

    But some elders under the auspices of Bayelsa First Initiative (BFI) kicked against the action of the governor. BFI said there was no basis for Dickson to extend the appointment of Singabele.

    The Director-General, BFI, Chief Nathan Egba, accused the governor of manipulating government’s institutions and policies to advance his personal interests.

    Egba said: “This development is coming on the heels of the Bayelsa State government’s inability to pay salaries of their Civil servants, teachers, University lecturers, local government employees as well as retirees, after series of Staff Verification exercises since January of this year.”

    Egba recalled that Dickson on assuming office in 2012 sacked the HoS who was barely a year in office because she was appointed by his predecessor, Chief Timipre Sylva.

    Also, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) frowned on the decision of the governor to extend the service of the retired HoS. They called on Dickson to with immediate effect appoint a new HoS to fill the exalted vacant position.

    The state NLC Chairman, Mr. Ndiomu Bipre and his TUC counterpart, Mr. Tari Dounana in a joint statement warned against the politicization of the HoS office in the state. According to them no Head of Service stays in office beyond the retirement age of 60 or 35 years whichever is applicable.

    “The continuous stay of the current Head of Service Doctor Peter Singabele beyond the retirement age of sixty years or thirty five years in service is a source of worry to workers in the state.  The Public Service Rules 02081 is very clear about retirement of public servants.

    “As a career civil servant, we expect the Head of Service to step aside or refuse any form of tenure elongation in order not to truncate promotion in the civil service,” they said.

    Furthermore, the leadership of the state’s branch of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) rejected the extension of Singabele’s and Akedesuo’s appointments.

    The Association, in a statement signed by its Secretary, Mr. Ebi Sikpi, said the contract appointments were a violation of the Public Service Rules, PSR 020810.

    Quoting the rule, he said: “No officer shall be allowed to remain in service after attaining the retirement age of sixty or thirty five years of pensionable service whichever is earlier”.

    Sikpi said there were qualified and competent permanent secretaries in the service to choose from for apportionment as HoS.

    But the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Jonathan Obuebite, insisted that Singabele’s reappointment is part of the governor’s efforts to reposition the civil service for effective performance.

    Obuebite said the governor recently met with Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Heads of Departments of various ministries, departments and agencies and commended them for supporting all his reforms in the civil service.

    He said Dickson assured them that whatever the government doing was purely to properly reposition the service to function effectively, in line with best practices. According to him the permanent secretaries, directors and heads of departments were unanimous in their support for the ongoing reforms in the service.

    He said they declared their total support for the six-month extension of the tenure of Singabele and expressed confidence in the ability of Singabele to ensure the proper implementation of the new reforms.

  • Dickson lauds EKSU for paying salaries

    Dickson lauds EKSU for paying salaries

    Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, paid tribute to the management of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti last Saturday for managing the institution well despite the current economic challenges.

    Dickson spoke after being conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (honoris Causa) in Public Administration at the university’s 21st convocation, during which a total of 18,685 candidates received Degrees, Diplomas and Post-graduate Diplomas.

    The Governor said: “It is a great privilege to have been invited here and decorated with this beautiful academic robe.  The Ekiti State University has become a model for other institutions. Just two days ago, I sent a team from our state university to come here and interact with your management with a view to find out how you are managing to pay salaries without receiving the subventions from your governor.”

    Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, also joined in praising the vice chancellor, Prof Samuel Bandele and his team. He also commended the institution’s council led by Prince Adedayo Adeyeye, for making the right choice in Bandele last December.

    “I want to appreciate the governing council of the university for your efforts and outstanding performance at a time like this when financing government has become a huge challenge in the face of the dwindling federal allocations. Your performance for the six months has been commendable,” he said.

    In light of the economic crunch, Fayose urged the graduands to look towards agriculture for jobs.

    “Those that are graduating, the queue out there is long and white collar jobs are rare.  Those who even have such jobs, are they paid regularly?  The situation is getting tougher every day, and we must all invest more in agriculture,” he said.

    In his speech, Prof Bandele said the institution has survived this far because he has vigorously pursued his mission to turn EKSU into a 21st century globally acclaimed university that will excel in academics, research, culture and moral values.

    He said the Revenue and Academic Summits organised to achieve the mission were already yielding positive dividends.

    For instance he said the revenue summit led to the establishment of EKSU Ventures which has been granted certificate of incorporation by the Corporate Affairs Commission and has created jobs and income.

    He said the university now has a bakery which produces bread, a block industry, a farm and has revived the university press which now handles printing jobs within and outside the university.

    The VC said the EKSU is also entering into partnership with notable universities in some parts of the world to reposition it academically so it can access research grants for various programmes.

    Bandele also said the university has revamped its Examination and Records Units which gave the institution a negative image because of late issuance of results, transcripts and certificates.

    Other achievements listed by Bandele included the expansion of academic programmes, development of Information and Communication Technology and the rehabilitation of various facilities, including the university library.

    Two others, Gbenga Oyebode, a lawyer and businessman; and Oba Adegoke Adeyemi, the Alara of Aramoko and Chancellor of the university, were honored along with Dickson.

    Oyebode bagged a honorary doctorate degree in Law, while Oba Adeyemi received bagged a honorary degree in Public Administration.

    Thanking the university for the honour, Oyebode said: “Over the years, I supported this university, the Faculty of Law has been receiving my support every week in the last 20 years. It is not every day you get celebrated at home and I cherish this first honorary doctorate degree. I thank this university for celebrating me.”

    Of the 18,685 graduands, 3,054 were full-time students; 392, Sandwich; 10,613 from affiliate colleges; and 3,937 part-time students.

    At the Postgraduate level, 78 bagged Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees; 366 Masters; 127 professional Masters; and 118 Post-Graduate Diploma.

  • Niger Delta governors not supporting violence, says Dickson

    Niger Delta governors not supporting violence, says Dickson

    ayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has said Southsouth governors are not supporting violence and members of Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) for attacking oil and gas installations.

    Dickson said stakeholders in Niger Delta, including political leaders, traditional rulers, interest groups and security agencies, were collaborating to ensure lasting peace in the region.

    The governor spoke at the weekend after he was conferred with a honorary doctorate degree in Public Administration at the Ekiti State University (EKSU) in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, during its 21st convocation ceremonies.

    Lawyer and businessman, Gbenga Oyebode, as well as the new Chancellor of the university, who is also the Alara of Aramoko Ekiti, Oba Adegoke Adeyemi, were awarded honorary doctorate degrees.

    Dickson said dialogue remained the best option to resolve grievances among warring parties.

    The governor urged the Federal Government and the militants to desist from using violence to settle their differences.

    Dickson said Niger Delta leaders were concerned about the upsurge of violence, adding that no reasonable person would support attacks on oil and gas facilities as well as other national assets sustaining the economy.

    The governor advised all parties to work together and put the situation under control.

    He said: “We are all concerned about the developments. All the leaders there are concerned about the recent upsurge in insurgency. We are collaborating on the way forward.

    “Those of us who are governors are working hard with traditional leaders, opinion leaders and security agencies as well as collaborating with other private and corporate bodies to ensure that we put it under control.

    “The way forward is not war, war. It is jaw-jaw. The way forward is peace and dialogue; it is consensus building. That is quite what some of us support. We don’t support violence; we are not in support of brigandage. We are not in support of destruction of strategic national assets and killings.

    “We know there is an issue and this issue can only be addressed when all stakeholders work together for unity, peace, prosperity and stability and progress for our country.”

    On the honorary degree given him, Dickson said: “It is a great privilege to have been invited here and decorated with this beautiful academic robe. On behalf of our people in Bayelsa, I bring warm felicitations to the people of Ekiti and my brother Governor Ayo Fayose, who is a visitor to this wonderful university and who has been doing a great job in the state, despite the distractions.

    “As you all know, Bayelsa and Ekiti have a lot in common. We are twin states established on the same day. So, we are keenly interested in what goes on in Ekiti. Every Bayelsa man and woman is a friend and brother of Ekiti, and you are good people.

    “The Ekiti State University has become a model for other institutions. Just two days ago, I sent a team from our state university to come here and interact with your management with a view to finding out how you are managing to pay salaries without receiving subventions from your governor.”

    Fayose hailed the university’s management for good performance and self-sustenance, despite not receiving subvention from the government.

    He said: “I want to appreciate the Governing Council of the university for its efforts and outstanding performance at a time like this, when financing government has become a huge challenge in the face of the dwindling federal allocations. Your performance for the six months has been commendable.”

  • Justice Tobi exemplified uprightness, says Dickson

    Justice Tobi exemplified uprightness, says Dickson

    •Kalu extols ex-Supreme Court justice’s virtues

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson yesterday paid tributes to the late legal icon and retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Niki Tobi.

    In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the governor described Tobi’s death as a personal loss to him, his administration, Bayelsa residents and the Ijaw nation.

    “In his demise, the Ijaw nation and Nigeria have lost one of its very best. He will be painfully missed by all,” he said.

    In a condolence message to the family of the deceased, the government and people of Delta State, Dickson said: “Justice Niki Tobi was a thoroughbred: a highly principled, upright and intelligent personality, whose contributions to the legal profession and nation-building will remain indelible in the history of Nigeria.”

    The governor said he received the news of Justice Tobi’s death with shock, sadness and a great sense of loss.

    He said: “As Chairman of the 2005 National Political Reforms Conference, under the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Justice Tobi gave exceptional and enviable leadership to arguably the best brains in the land in the process of recreating a nation we could all truly call our own.”

    Also, a former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu has described the late Justice Tobi as an outstanding legal icon, who committed his career to the development of Nigeria’s judicial system.

    Kalu said the demise of the former Supreme Court justice was a painful loss not only to the Judiciary but also to Nigeria.

    The former governor noted that the late jurist, who was one-time Dean of the Faculty of Law and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Services) at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), demonstrated professionalism, selflessness and forthrightness in his academic and legal endeavours.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, the former governor said: “Nigeria has lost a great personality. Justice Tobi was a shining light in the Judiciary.

    “His intellectual capacity was of immense value to several verdicts of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, where he served in different capacities.

    “It is worthy to acknowledge the significant role Justice Tobi played in the review of the draft 1999 Constitution under the General Abdulsalami Abubakar government.

    “The good deeds of the late academician and legal luminary will remain evergreen in the minds of Nigerians.

    “As we mourn the former Supreme Court justice, it is my prayer that God Almighty will give the deceased’s family the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss.”

    The businessman admonished the late Tobi’s family to take solace in the fact that their patriarch lived a purposeful life worthy of emulation.

    Kalu said the late Tobi’s legacies should be emulated by those he left behind.

    Commiserating with the government and people of Delta State, the justices and workers of the Supreme Court and the nation’s Judiciary, Kalu prayed God to grant the deceased a blissful rest.

     

  • Teachers battle Dickson over six-month unpaid salaries 

    Teachers battle Dickson over six-month unpaid salaries 

    •May half salary rejected
    •Full pay for January demanded

    Secondary school teachers in Bayelsa State are at loggerheads with Governor Seriake Dickson over his administration’s inability to pay them since January.

    At the weekend, the teachers protested the governor’s decision to pay them half of May salary out of about six months the government owed them.

    Dickson had urged the teachers to gather at the Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha Memorial Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital, to get their salaries.

    But trouble reportedly started when the teachers discovered that the government was only willing to pay 50 per cent of their May salary.

    The aggrieved workers rejected the offer and took to the street in protest.

    But the governor, who saw the teachers in the morning during his routine jogging to keep fit, reportedly asked them to manage what was available.

    He promised to pay them the January salary at the end of this month.

    The teachers were reportedly angry because they were not paid in January when civil servants in some ministries last received their full-month salaries.

    One of the teachers, who spoke in confidence, said they expected the governor to pay them January salary in full first before negotiating half-payment for May.

    He said: “We got a message this morning (Friday) that we should come here, that they wanted to pay us our salary. The annoying thing is that the governor paid civil servants their January salary but he did not pay us. Now, he wants to pay half-salary for May instead of paying the January salary.

    “Even, he has not given us the January salary; February too has not been paid. There are still the March and April salaries, which have not been paid. But now, he wants to pay half of May salary when we are in June.

    “We were there at the Government House. We assembled in front of the Government House and the governor was passing by, after he went for jogging.  He called the leader of our group and told him to tell us to be patient and accept the half-salary for May. He said at the end of this month, he would pay the January salary.”

    The teacher also complained that the state’s chapter of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) was doing the bidding of the government.

    He said the leader of the union hails from the same local government area with the governor.

    “What we are saying is that we cannot accept half-salary for May without our January salary being paid to us. The January salary should be addressed,” the teacher said.

    But it was gathered that the teachers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUUS), sent a delegation to Education Commissioner Markson Fefegha to discuss the matter.

    ASUUS Chairman Oyinemi Eberedeni and its Secretary Pedro Igbudu led the delegation.

    They said the teachers rejected the half-salary and appeald to the government to keep the money in teachers’ account pending when the January salary would be ready.

    Following the protest, a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said Dickson later met with the teachers and approved full payment of the January salary.

    The governor said his administration placed high premium on the Education sector.

    He vowed to make the workers happy at all levels.

    He blamed the country’s dwindling economic fortunes for the salary delay, assuring workers that the February, March and April salary arrears would be paid when the situation improved.

    Dickson thanked the affected teachers for their tolerance and understanding.

    The governor advised members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) to cooperate with his administration.

    He added: “No reasonable government will ordinarily owe its workforce. But the present economic situation in the country demands that all hands must be on deck to proffer a lasting solution to the economic crisis.

    “The strike will lead the state nowhere. ASUU should be concerned about the future of the students and reason with the government.”