Tag: Dickson

Bayelsa State All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday said Governor Seriake Dickson was planning to dump his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the opposition.

APC accused the governor of funding the crisis in the state to destroy the leader of the state’s opposition, Timipre Sylva.

The party’s faction also said although its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Timi Frank, was from Bayelsa, he was politically not from the state because he was not representing the state at the party’s national leadership level.

Addressing reporters after a meeting with APC national leadership in Abuja, factional State Chairman, Joseph Fafi, as well as Organising Secretary, Tonye Okio, said Dickson wants to destabilise the party in Bayelsa before taking it over as its state leader.

The factional chairman said the state’s APC would not allow the governor to destroy the party’s structures which Sylva built over the years.

He said there was evidence that the suspended chairman worked with Dickson, adding that statements to the media emanated from Dickson’s chief press secretary.

Fafi said the suspended chairman was not fighting for Bayelsa APC, adding: “He has been fighting to be executive director of Finance of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He wants to chair the local content’s board and wanted to be deputy governor.”

The factional chairman said APC’s state leadership submitted a petition to the party’s national leadership, which promised to look into the allegations.

Fafi said: “We came here to

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Peace and Reconciliation Committee and Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson yesterday met with the party’s leadership in Imo State at the Bayelsa State Governor’s Lodge, in Asokoro, Abuja, with a view to reconciling feuding factions.

A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting said the warring factions resolved to unite to strengthen the party and ensure its victory in elections, beginning with the March 19 senatorial rerun in Imo North. The leaders pledged to be loyal to the party’s National Executive Committee, to conduct the upcoming congress in line with the party’s constitution. They also resolved to hold an all-inclusive leadership meeting in Owerri,

Governor Dickson thanked the leaders for toeing the path of peace. He promised to translate the good news to the party’s leadership.

Present at the meeting were two former governors of the state, Chief Achike Udenwa and Chief Ikedi Ohakim, former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and Imo State governorship candidate in 2015, Emeka Ihedioha, Senators Hope Uzodinma, Samuel Anyanwu, and Athan Achonu, Southeast Chairman of the party, Col. Austine  Akobundu (rtd) and the party’s National Woman Leader Dr. Kema Chikwe.

Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson yesterday met with the family of Ese Oruru at the Government House, Yenagoa.

The governor, who spoke after the meeting, said he had set up a medical team, including psychologists, to facilitate Ese’s recovery.

Dickson hailed the media and civil society groups for their efforts in securing Ese’s freedom adding that his administration would support the family at this critical time.

The governor also called for a comprehensive investigation into the abduction and subsequent prosecution of the culprits.

He described the incident as “unfortunate”, adding that the state government had directed the Ministry of Justice to collaborate with the Police, towards ensuring that Ese’s abduction was prosecuted to a logical conclusion.

Dickson, who described Ese as a minor, wondered why it took so long to secure her release.

He said there were questions begging for answers, “as those who knew something about her abduction failed to say or do something to ensure Ese’s return to her parents”.

The governor said: “This matter has to do with enforcement of the laws of this state. This matter is not religious; it is not a matter that has to be swept under the carpet, because of one tradition or the other.

“We, as a government, are seeing this matter as one of law enforcement; the rights of a young girl, innocent childhood, her right to proper development and her right to grow up in the company of her parents and also practice for now the faith of her parents. A lot has happened.

“I want to use this opportunity to assure all that. The Nigeria Police Force is working hard and I have directed the Ministry of Justice to collaborate effectively with them to ensure that this matter is prosecuted to a logical conclusion.

“I also trust and believe that the police investigations would also extend far and wide, because there are questions begging for answers and we as a government, We want to know why adults, fathers and grandfathers, who saw a minor taken away from here down and into circumstances she found herself in in far away Kano did not make it a priority of returning that child; that minor to the lawful and proper custody of her parents.

“We want to know why it took this long; we’d like to know those who knew what was going on, but did not say something. We like to know those who could have saved this situation much earlier, but did not.

“Like I said, we are looking at this issue not from the prism of culture, tradition or religion. From now on, this matter has to be looked at purely and simply as a case of law enforcement and as a case of state responsibility and protection and safety of our children; in this case, a minor. I have had preliminary briefings by the Police Commissioner and his team.”

Dickson said Ese’s case should be treated as an infringement on her fundamental human rights and law enforcement.

The governor said he had received preliminary briefings from the Police Commissioner.

“We have directed that a team be set up, made up of medical practitioners, counsellors, who would liaise and work with Ese and her parents to offer support, we are prepared to support and stand by Ese, not just now, but most importantly in the days, months and years ahead.

“I like to thank all Nigerians for their legitimate concern in this matter. I appreciate the efforts of the parents and the Oruru family. I thank my counterpart, the Kano State Governor, since this matter became public knowledge. I like to thank the media.”

Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has set up a panel to probe the roles of civil servants in the last election.

It was gathered that civil servants who were known to have worked and voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election were jittery following the ongoing moves by Dickson to isolate and sanction them.

Yesterday, Dickson constituted a five-man panel and ordered it to investigate the level of involvement of some career public civil servants in partisan politics.

It was learnt that the move could be part of measures by the governor to prune down the number of civil servants in the state amid outcries by his government that it could no longer meet up with its wage bill because of dwindling revenue.

But some of the civil servants frowned on the development describing it as vindictive and appealed to the governor to be magnanimous in victory.

One of the civil servants, who spoke in confidence, said she was among persons whose salaries were withdrawn following allegations that she supported the APC.

Dickson, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the move was designed to save the civil service of the state from destruction by politicians.

 He named members of the panel as Mr. Renner Tiebiri (Chairman), Dr. Enokie Bribena  (secretary and Legal Adviser), Suru Oyarede, Walton Liverpool and Ebikipah Ebikake.

The governor, in the statement said to have been signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, said it had come to the notice of the government that such public servants were involved in partisan politics in the last December, 2015 and January, 2016 governorship polls.

He said such persons  “were used as coordinators of political parties and party agents at various levels”.

 According to him, the state government was aware of plans by a particular political party to use some public servants as witnesses to testify during election petition tribunal.

 He said: “The action of such public servants, most of whom were card-carrying members of various political parties, was a clear contravention of the extant Public Service Rules, PSR No. 030422 (a-d) of the 2008 edition”.

 The government, he said, would invoke the provisions in the Public Service Rules, PSR 030401 and 030402 to deal decisively with any public servant indicted by the panel.

 He said the panel was empowered to investigate workers in all tiers of the public service, including persons in the educational institutions and the unified local government service.