The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Governor Henry Seriake Dickson

  • Ex-President Jonathan backs Dickson’s Peace Committee

    Ex-President Jonathan backs Dickson’s Peace Committee

    …Insists political solution best option to end PDP crisis

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Saturday, threw his weight behind the Governor Seriake Dickson-led Peace and Reconciliation Committee, insisting that a political solution remained the best option to resolving ongoing crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Receiving the governor and members of his committee in his country home at Otuoke, Ogbia local government area, Bayelsa State, Jonathan urged the contending parties to embrace negotiations as a way out of the current party challenge.

    Jonathan , who made the remarks after receiving the report of the peace Committee, said party affairs should be treated like a family matter and settled out of court.

    He commended the Dickson-led committee immensely for its good work saying members of the committee deserved encouragement.

    He particularly thanked the governor and his entourage for going round the country to meet with key stakeholders and leaders of the party to seek ways of returning peace to the PDP.

    Jonathan expressed reservation over the use of courts to settle political matters, stressing that a political solution would ensure a win-win outcome for the warring groups within the party.

    He said: “ I believe a political solution remains the best means of resolving the crisis in the party and that’s why the Dickson committee must be commended.

    “No two parties go to court and come out smiling especially for a political party like the PDP that’s in the opposition”, the former president opined”.

    Giving instances of people who went to court and at the end could not get the desired result, Jonathan insisted that courts should ordinarily have no business in deciding who should be the chairman of a political party.

    The former president called on the parties to submit themselves to a political solution and expressed hope that it would finally rest the protracted crisis.

    On his part before presenting the report to the former President, Dickson aligned himself to some of the remarks made by Engr Aba Gana, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who had earlier spoken.

    Dickson added that Bayelsa State has benefited substantially from the PDP, declaring that the party remains the only one that has given the position of President to Bayelsa, a minority.

    He expressed Bayelsa’s indebtedness to the PDP, insisting that it is a thing of pride to work to ensure that the crisis in the party is finally resolved.

    Earlier, Gana, who is a member of PDP’s Board of Trustee paid glowing tributes to the remarkable leadership quality of Dickson referring to him as a peacemaker.

    “He has pushed the process so relentlessly to the extent that the success of finding a lasting resolution of the crisis has become evident”, Gana said.

    He also commended former President Jonathan for conceding defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari at the time he did.

    He maintained that that singular move restored peace to Nigeria and averted the looming crisis that would have consumed a number of lives.

    Gana noted that a leader who could achieve that feat effortlessly, would even do much more to restore peace in the PDP.

  • APC to Dickson: Pay attention to workers’ welfare

    APC to Dickson: Pay attention to workers’ welfare

    Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of the Integrity Group (IG), Saturday, asked the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to pay attention to the welfare of workers in the state.

    The party members told Dickson to demonstrate the fear of God in line with the objectives of the recently-concluded November 2 state’s Thanksgiving Day by reverting to the payment of full salaries.

    The Leader of the state’s Integrity Group, Mr. Christopher Abarowei in a statement titled, Singing in a Strange Land, lamented the plight of civil servants and other categories of government workers saying they were suffering untold hardship.

    Abarowei noted that the inability of the government to pay full salaries in Bayelsa considered as a civil service state, increased the level of hunger and poverty in the state.

    He said: “We are all on the same page irrespective of party affiliations with all of us praising and thanking God for sparing us as a people. But the governor should with all honesty look deep into the plight of our people.

    “Bayelsa is purely a civil service state. The governor should meet up with his obligation of paying their salaries in full as and when due as we cannot continue singing the Lord’s song in a strange land.

    “Bayelsans are hungry and many people have withdrawn their children from school. Many businesses have closed down because money is no longer circulating in the state”.

    While explaining that showing appreciation to God was a welcome development, Abarowei, however, insisted that it was ungodly to treat workers in the state with ignominy.

    He said: “We want to remind Governor Seriake Dickson of his promise to revert to full payment of salaries as soon as the allocation coming into the state improves. Has the allocation improved? If the allocation has improved, why are the workers still paid half salaries?”

    Abarowei further faulted the scriptural memory verse of Psalm 35:4 adopted by the governor for the year’s thanksgiving day.

    “The memory verse says, ‘let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. Let them be turned back and brought to confusion that device my hurt’.

    “Nobody in Bayelsa will pray for the downfall of a fellow Bayelsan as God is not an author of confusion and it is expedient to note here that God said a labourer is worthy if his or her wages.

    “The governor should pay the civil servants their salaries without much ado to make them say a resounding amen to his prayers”, he said.

  • Bayelsa first lady gives birth to quadruplet in U.S

    Bayelsa first lady gives birth to quadruplet in U.S

    After many years of marriage without a child, the First Lady of Bayelsa State, Dr. Rachael Dickson, has given birth to quadruplet in an undisclosed hospital in the United States of America (USA).

    A statement signed by Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seriake Dickson, said the development contributed to the season of celebrations in the governor’s family.

    The statement said: “The season of celebrations continues in the family of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State as his wife, the First Lady, Dr. Rachael Dickson, just put to bed in the United States of America.

    “She was delivered of quadruplet; a bouncing baby boy and three beautiful baby girls. Mother and children are doing well.

    “This is particularly good news for the family and Bayelsans because this bundle of joy is coming after many years of praying and waiting upon the Lord.

    “Governor Dickson thanks friends, family members and Bayelsans for their prayers and support and enjoins them to continue to pray for the family.”

  • Dickson orders perm secs, others to submit payrolls

    Dickson orders perm secs, others to submit payrolls

    Bayelsa State Government has restated its determination to carry out far-reaching reforms in the service, towards eliminating payroll and other fraudulent activities.

    The decision was line with its ongoing efforts at repositioning the State public service for effective service delivery.

    Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said this was why government set up the various staff verification teams as well as the Judicial Commission of Inquiry for the State public service and the Rural Development Authorities.

    The statement quoted the governor as directing all permanent secretaries, heads of the parastatals and extra ministerial departments as well as principals and headmasters, to submit their staff nominal rolls, indicating the date of first appointment of each staff and current grade level.

    He also urged them to “submit the staff payrolls, indicating the authentic monthly salary for each staff, within one week, stressing that, non compliance with this directive would be met with stiff disciplinary measures.”

    Iworiso-Markson said, “The permanent secretaries, heads of parastatals and heads of extra ministerial departments, principals and headmasters, have been strongly advised to sign the required documents personally and take responsibility for every information or data submitted in this regard.

    “The permanent secretaries and heads of parastatals and extra ministerial departments are expected to submit their documents to the office of the Head of Service of the State, with principals to submit same to the Chairman of the Post Primary Schools Board, while headmasters are directed to submit same to the Executive Secretary of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).”

    The state government also used the medium to appeal to all workers of the public service to be patient, as efforts were being made to ensure that, all genuine public servants were paid their salaries.