The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Governor Seriake Dickson

  • ASUU shuts Bayelsa varsity over unpaid salary arrears

    ASUU shuts Bayelsa varsity over unpaid salary arrears

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) has commenced a sit-at-home protest following the inability of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led administration to pay lecturers of the university five-month salary arrears.

    Investigations revealed that ASUU at the weekend directed its members to vacate the campus and to suspend all academic activities till further notice.

    When our correspondent visited the school on Friday, no lecturer reported to work and classrooms were found empty.

    Ongoing examinations were suspended and students were seen leaving the campus and the university community for their various homes.

    The ASUU Chairman in NDU, Stanley Ogoun, confirmed the development and said lecturers could no longer be discharging their duties without money to run their daily expenses.

    He said: “We have started the sit-at-home action and this means suspension of all academic activities relating to teaching and examination of students”.

    But the Bayelsa State Government appealed to ASUU and other workers in the state not to despair over the economic crisis facing the state insisting that clearing their backlog of salaries remained the first-line charge of Dickson.

    The government in a statement co-signed by the two political advisers to the governor, Mr. Fyneman Wilson and Mr. Steven Diver, said the governor and his team were going through sleepless nights to pay the workers.

    The statement said the governor had already set up a Financial Management Committee chaired by the deputy Governor, Mr. John Jonah, to review monthly financial obligations and satisfy the basic ones.

    “To this effect, paying workers’ salaries always come first before other financial obligations. Steps are already being taken to ensure the payment of salaries within the shortest possible time.

    “We are appealing to workers to exercise some patience because they will soon receive their pay. We also appreciate Bayelsans for displaying sense of maturity and understanding despite the difficult time they are going through,” the statement said.

    The statement also highlighted the economic difficulties faced by the state adding that it was painful for a state which used to collect an average of N16bn monthly to settle for N2.9bn in January and N1.6bn in March.

    According to the statement allocations of three months were not enough to pay over N4bn monthly salaries of the workers.

    It said the verification committee set up by the government to clean the payrolls of public servants would ensure that genuine, honest and hard-working workers received their entitlements.

    The statement said: “The Dickson’s administration is the one that values all workers in the state and committed to improving the welfare of workers including paying gratuities and pensions of retired workers.

    “The governor has also taken steps to strengthen the Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR). He should be commended for looking inwards”.

    It also clarified that the government received N1.285bn bailout fund for the eight local government areas instead of N12.85bn wrongly reported in the media.

    “The Dickson-led administration in Bayelsa is focused. When this economic crisis started in the country, Bayelsa managed to stay afloat because of the governor’s prudence in the management of scarce resources.

    “Following the submission of verification reports from the local government areas, the government will soon direct the various councils to start paying salaries of their workers,” the statement said.

  • Dickson pledges to rehabilitate Ese Oruru

    Dickson pledges to rehabilitate Ese Oruru

    The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, Tuesday, regretted the abduction of 14 year-old, Ese Oruru, from Yenagoa to Kano where she was forced into marriage.

    The governor also called on parents and guardians “to be extremely vigilant, especially in the monitoring of the activities of their children, with a view to ensuring that, they do not fall victim to the antics of mischief makers.”

    Dickson in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, condemned the entire action.

    He expressed satisfaction with the various individuals, non-governmental and civil society groups for bringing the matter to national and international focus.

    He said the government was prepared to support every effort to re-uniting Ese Oruru with her family in Yenagoa, and ensuring her proper rehabilitation and reintegration into the society to resume her normal life.

    He commended the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, for the role he played in ensuring the release of the victim.

    Dickson also applauded security agencies for handling the matter with swiftness and professionalism.

    He thanked the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II, for ensuring the safety of Ese and eventual handing over to the Police in Kano.

    “The government and people of Bayelsa State will remain eternally grateful to all those, who contributed in one way or the other in giving the issue the desired attention,” he said.

  • Dickson dissolves cabinet, reappoints CPS

    Dickson dissolves cabinet, reappoints CPS

    The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has dissolved his cabinet following the end of his first tenure.

    The governor, however, immediately retained Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, as his Chief Press Secretary (CPS).

    Dickson in a statement signed by Iworiso-Markson said the dissolution of his cabinet was part of activities marking his transition to a second term in office.

    The statement said: “The Governor wishes to thank all political appointees, who served in the first tenure for their commitment and dedicated services to the Government and people of the state.

    “According to a Government House statement, Governor Dickson wishes them well in all their future endeavours.

    “It, however, points out that, those whose services may be needed will be reappointed to serve the state in the future.”

  • Anger as Dickson’s sister suffers in kidnappers’ den 45 days after

    Anger as Dickson’s sister suffers in kidnappers’ den 45 days after

    There was anger in Bayelsa State, Saturday, as Nancy Keme Dickson, the abducted younger sister to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, remained in kidnappers’ den for about 45 days.

    Most residents who spoke to our correspondent said it was unbelievable that a governor’s sister could spend such number of days in captivity.

    While some of them said it was inexcusable for the governor to allow his sister to languish in the company of notorious criminals, others urged the abductors to set the lady free on compassionate grounds.

    Nancy, 26, said to be the last child of the Dickson’s family, was abducted on December 19, 2015 by unidentified gunmen.

    The student of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), was kidnapped at her shop located in Okaka Road, Yenagoa, the state capital.

    The gunmen who reportedly drove in an ash Lexus Jeep, trailed her to her shop and whisked her away to an unknown place at about 2:50pm.

    Her shop is located in a building housing the office of the Bayelsa Volunteers, an army of youths working for the state government to assist security agencies in bursting crime.

    Nancy was abducted after the December 5, 2015 governorship election and a few weeks to the January 9 supplementary poll, which Dickson won and became reelected for a second term.

    Her travails appeared to have been forgotten until The Nation recently published a report reawakening public consciousness on the matter.

    A top security source who spoke in confidence said security agencies in the state totally forgot the matter until they read the report.

    He said the governor mentioned it during the state Security Council Meeting that was held on Monday.

    “The report reawakened the consciousness of security commanders on the matter. At the last security council meeting, the governor mentioned the case of his sister.

    “But he said he would not pay ransom to the kidnappers. He, however, did not give the security commander a marching order to secure the freedom of his sister,” he said.

    It was, however, learnt that a first attempt through a negotiating team to set Nancy free was tragic as the kidnappers reportedly collected money from a member of the team, set his car ablaze and threatened to kill him.

    The kidnappers were said to have held the negotiator hostage for about a week before releasing him.

    A resident of Yenagoa who identified himself simply as Peter urged the governor to handle his sister’s case as an emergency.

    “We know that the governor has always spoken against paying ransom, but when a matter gets to this level, the governor can play along, retrieve his sister first and then go after the kidnappers as the Chief Security Officer of the state.

    “The health of Nancy should be paramount now because she must have been subjected to inhuman treatments because she is a young and attractive lady,” he said.

    An aide to the governor on Social Media, Mr. John Idumange, appealed to the kidnappers to release Nancy unconditionally.

    Idumange said: “Miss Nancy Dickson was kidnapped about seven weeks ago. We have made inexorable efforts to appeal to her kidnappers to release the girl unconditionally. As a student, this has already destroyed her academic career.

    “Once more, we wish to express our deep concern about this kidnap saga. This is one kidnap too many. We do not know those who have done this evil deed, but God is watching. We passionately appeal to the kidnappers to release her unconditionally.

    “She must have been traumatized to the point of overkill and enough of this inhumanity to her persons.”

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Butswat Asinim, said the police were doing their best to free the lady.

  • Tension as Dickson, Sylva engage in last battle 

    Tension as Dickson, Sylva engage in last battle 

    There was tension in Bayelsa State, Friday, as voters in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and over 101 polling units across six local councils, prepare to chose between Chief Timipre Sylva and Governor Seriake Dickson on Saturday.

    Since it started on December 5, the election has been a two-horse race between the former Governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva and the incumbent Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    The December 5 governorship poll in the state was declared inconclusive with supplementary election fixed for today after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) controversially cancelled the results in Southern Ijaw.

    It was observed that Southern Ijaw has been soaked in tension in a build-up to the rerun.

    Hired militants and thugs were said to have laid siege in the council preparing to violently deliver their candidates.

    Some of the thugs who were reportedly brought into the council from neighboring states of Delta and Rivers were said to have clashed with indigenes of some Southern Ijaw communities.

    It was gathered that youths loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) caught one of the youths in Peremabiri, who reportedly confessed he was hired by the PDP.

    A source in Peremabiri who spoke in confidence, said there was tension in the area and other parts of the council.

    “There is tension everywhere. In fact, we don’t know what the outcome of the election will be. There are signs that it will be marred by violence,” he said.

    It was, however, gathered that the council was surrounded by gunboats of the Operation Safe Conduct (OSC), a special military outfit drafted to monitor the poll, the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    Following threats of violence, the NSCDC, directed its operatives and officers to provide maximum security around all the oil installations in the state.

    The corps also deployed 1500 personnel to assist other security agencies in ensuring a hitch-free election.

    While deploying the operatives, the state Commandant, NSCDC, Mr. Desmond Agu, warned persons sent to protect public facilities against the temptation of leaving such installations to follow politicians.

    Agu said the Commandant-General had ordered that any NSCDC operatives found culpable of compromising the rules of engagement should be dismissed from the service.

    He said the officers and men of the command were deployed to provide security to critical public installations during the poll.

    He named such installations as facilities of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Oil and Gas Pipeline, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    He said: “On no account should they allow themselves to be used for other activities during this supplementary election in Southern Ijaw and environs as against their primary duties of keeping surveillance and protection over facilities in their custody.

    “Anyone found guilty to have contravened this strict order of the commandant-general will face a stringent disciplinary action of dismissal from service

    “I am not deploying you to go and die. Don’t attach yourself to any politician. I am commending you for the job you did in the last election because the people said if not for you, things would have got out of hand.”

    The commandant warned the people against destabilizing their state insisting that election is not a do or die affair.

    Also, the police command said it had beefed up security with increased foot, vehicular, and waterways patrols, as well as intensive aerial surveillance in all nooks and crannies of the state.

    A statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Asinim Butswat, asked all political parties and their contestants to desist from any act capable, of disrupting the electoral process.

    The statement said: “The Command in collaboration with other security agencies have synergized to create an enabling environment for the forthcoming re-run elections in Southern Ijaw LGA and other affected polling units.

    “VIPs are advised to desist from using security men to escort them to polling units on election date, as any violation to this order will not be tolerated.

    “Security agencies have been ordered to enforce the restrictions of movements, of boats fitted with two hundred (200) horse power engine and above, and all river craft activities in the state waterways, from 7pm to 7am Friday 8th – Sunday 10th January, 2016, respectively.

    “Any person or group of persons who violates this order will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly. Likewise, movement of persons, motor vehicles and tricycles will be restricted on the election date, in the entire state, from the hours of 6am to 6pm, only those on essential duties will be allowed to move.

    “The electorates in the affected areas are advised to come out and exercise their franchise by casting their votes for candidates of their choice.”

     

  • Pensioners protest unpaid allowances in Bayelsa

    Pensioners protest unpaid allowances in Bayelsa

    Aggrieved pensioners, Wednesday, blocked major roads in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State to protest four-month arrears of unpaid allowances by Governor Seriake Dickson.

    The aged men and women carried placards and marched from St. Peters Primary School Ovom to the Government House gate in Onopa.

    As they marched, the pensioners who were led by one Bodi Amara, the leader of Concerned Pensioners in Bayelsa, sang songs in solidarity attracting sympathy from onlookers.

    They said it was wicked for the government to owe them for four months adding that many of them were sick and hungry.

    Some of the placards they carried bore inscriptions such as, “pensioners not for endorsement and politics” and “talk and do governor, you have failed us.”

    The angry pensioners were received by the Chief of Staff to the governor, Chief Talford Ongolo who assured them of government’s determination to solve their problems.

    It was gathered that Ongolo later met with the leadership of the pensioners and promised the government would pay them one month to enable them celebrate the yuletide.

    He told them that the Treasury Department had been put on notice to quickly arrange for the one month allowance of the pensioners.

    The Chairman of Bayelsa State pensioners, Dr. Emmanuel Namatebe, who was at the meeting said Ongolo promised that after the yuletide, the government would sit with the pensioners and fashion out modalities of paying the remaining arrears.

    He said: “We are owed from September to November. But since the government has promised to pay us one month to enable us celebrate the yuletide it means they want to pay for September.  We have not received alert yet but if the money is not paid today, it means that it won’t be paid till after Christmas. “

  • Gunmen abduct Dickson’s sister in Bayelsa

    Gunmen abduct Dickson’s sister in Bayelsa

    Unidentified gunmen Saturday abducted Nancy Keme Dickson, the younger sister to the Bayelsa State’s Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    Nancy, 26, who was said to be the last child of the Dicksons was kidnapped at her shop located in Okaka Road, Yenagoa, the state capital.

    It was gathered that the gunmen who reportedly drove in an ash Lexus Jeep, trailed their target to her shop and whisked her away to an unknown place at about 2:50pm.

    It was unclear how the assailants managed to abduct their victim in a broad daylight in a city guarded at strategic points by patrol vehicles of the state’s security outfit, Operation Door Akpo.

    Investigations revealed that shortly after the incident the police mounted stop and search operations on vehicles at different parts of the city.

    Most residents claimed that the incident was politically motivated.

    Dickson, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing a fierce reelection battle in the ongoing governorship poll in the state.

    Though the governor leads with over 33,000 votes, the rerun poll in Southern Ijaw and about 112 other polling units, which had been fixed for January 9, 2016, makes the contest competitive and tight.

    Bayelsa has been under the throes of kidnapping with persons close to governorship candidates abducted.

    The cousin to the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), chief Timipre Sylva; the centenarian mother of his running mate, Chief Wilberforce Igiri and the wife of an APC chieftain and former acting Governor, Nestor Binabo, were among persons abducted before the poll.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Asinim But swat, confirmed the abduction of Nancy.

    He said: “On the 19 December, 2015, at about 1450hrs, four unknown gunmen in an ash coloured Lexus Jeep, trailed one Nancy Keme Dickinson, 26 yrs, to her shop at Okaka road, Yenagoa, and abducted her and her sales girl to an unknown destination.

    ” The Command immediately embarked on a Stop and Search/Cordon Operations in a bid to rescue the victims and apprehend the perpetrators. Efforts have been intensified to arrest the abductors. Investigation is ongoing.”

  • APC sure of winning Bayelsa

    APC sure of winning Bayelsa

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that it is confident that it will still emerge victorious in the governorship election in Bayelsa state despite the poor performance in the seven local government areas where elections has been concluded.
    Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank who expressed the party’s optimism on Thursday, said even though the party lost six of the seven local government where results have been announced so far, it was confident that when the supplementary election is conducted, the APC will emerge victorious.
    Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Frank said the infighting within the party in the state was largely responsible for the poor performance of the party in six of the seven local government areas where elections have been concluded and results announced by INEC.
    He said that there were issues resulting from the conduct of the governorship primary in the state, pointing out that the governorship candidate of the party should be able to correct the mistakes he made that put the party in the current position.
    He said: “This is the beginning of the battle. The battle is not yet over because we still have a rerun election and we are waiting for INEC to give us a new date. By the grace if god, that local government t is a very big one that has a lot of votes.
    “Yes, we must have lost in the other six local government areas that has been announced. But we are still hopeful that if we come together as a party, we will achieve a lot.
    “I can tell you clearly that the only reason why we lost the local government areas we have lost is because there are internal crisis in Bayelsa and I made this clear before today. Those crisis are still there till today. For example, our governorship candidate has not spoken to me since after the primary election.
    “There are so many people still aggrieved within the party and there are those who don’t have the courage to speak out and that is why we lost in those a areas we lost. If we came together from the beginning as one, if you were united before the election and everyone seems to be happy what happened in Bayelsa would not have happened.
    “However whatever has happened is history today, but I pray that the candidate himself should be able to correct whatever wrong or mistakes he must have made to put our party in this situation. Now that we are expecting a local government that has a very big votes, if we do well to correct our wrongs, I believe that we can still get victory from that local government”.
    Frank who insisted that he was the constitutionally recognized spokesman of the party with the exit of the National Publicity Secretary said the party and indeed Nigerians were not prepared for what happened in Kogi state, but expressed satisfaction with the way the party handled the issue.
    “Sorry to say that we were not prepared for what happened in Kogi State. But as a party, we just had to take a decision. We were also conscious of the fact that who ever the party choose, people will still go to court. So, we can not be stagnant as a party and we had to come up with a decision.
    “Whatever decision was taken, the party consulted widely, spoke with the people of Kogi state, did all our checks before taking the decision that was taken. As a party, we have taken a decision and it is left for people who feel aggrieved to challenge it in the court of law. Whatever such the outcome of such litigations, as a party, we respect the rule of law. We I’ll give the judiciary the opportunity at this point in time to interprete the laws and what ever the court says, as a party, we will abide by it”.
    On who speaks for the party with the exit of Lai Mohammed, Frank said “I can tell you clearly that our party constitution is very clear and for anybody who does not understand the party constitution within the party, as at today, I am the Acting spokesperson of the party.
    “It is very clear that when either the National Chairman, the National Secretary or anybody is not there today, the deputy takes over automatically. This is the principle contained in the party constitution. We have this also existing today in the PDP. You can see that when Mauzu left, Secondus is today acting Chairman of the party.
    “It is not different. Today, Lai Mohammed is not there and so, I am the Acting spokesperson of the party. Any other person issue ing statements for the party is doing so in his personal capacity. But constitutionally, I am the Acting Spokesperson of the party. It is not something I need to lobby of beg somebody within the party for. It is skiing that is meant to be the trend and no by it”.
    On whether he believed that the Buhari government can sustain the N5000 payment to unemployed Nigerians. Comrade Timi Frank said “I can tell you clearly that for the President to come up with this kind of budget, I believe he must have commuted himself to Nigerians and is trying to key into his promises to Nigerians and see how he can turn things around to make sure that whatever promise he has made can really are sustained.
    “He has competent hands. You can see that he has been traveling from one country to another looking for solutions and how Nigeria can really move forward under his leadership. Sustainability is not going to be an issue because he has a team which can deliver.
    “I believe they are going to look for ways of sustaining what he has promised Nigerians. I will only appeal to Nigerians to give him the opportunity to see how he will achieve whatever he must have promised.
    “Let us just give him a chance and be hopeful and trust that Mr. president, known to be somebody who keep to his words, is going to achieve the promise he has made to Nigerians”.

    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” link_target=”_blank” tag=”Bayelsa” count=”8″ show_more=”on” show_more_type=”link”]

  • Dickson’s treason

    Governor Seriake Dickson played not the role of the chief executive of a state. He wore the robe of a militant. He dressed in the area boy’s garb. His diction lacked finesse. His vision lacked refinement. In a civilised society that respects law and order, he should have been asked to quickly jump out of the race for the governor of Bayelsa State.

    Only a reckless man would go on radio in the midst of an election and roar with treason. In the now controversial election for governor in the state, Governor Dickson went live on radio to incite the citizens of the state to protest. He said he was not happy with the trend of the election and asked the people of the state to resist.

    He set the time for the rally or protest at 2 pm on Sunday, a day when those who had already voted were supposed to have attended services and learned a thing or two about meekness or order or righteousness.

    Hear him: “There will be a rally to resist what is happening now. It is clear to me that security services have become an army of occupation.”

    What was happening, if one asked the governor of imperial bearing with the phony swagger of a walking stick? What was happening was that after apparently leading in six of the eight local governments, he suddenly realised that violence infested the process. He never called for protest when the Minister of State, Heineken Lokpobri, was ensconced in his home as hoodlums barrelled into his compound with gunshots and bombs until they were repulsed by a detachment of the Joint Task Force. Neither did he fulminate against the farce in Sagbama when reports indicated that real votes melted away in favour of artificial ones.

    But he decided to violate the electoral law by calling for protest on election day. He was afraid of the Southern Ijaw vote. He was afraid that the numbers were stacked up against him. While he led with an apparent 28,000 votes, Southern Ijaw was going to pull a California on him. In the United States, any presidential candidate’s lead means nothing until the avalanche of California votes swashes into the count.

    The Deputy Inspector of Police, HashimuArgungu, promptly cautioned the governor with a strong statement. He reminded the governor and Bayelsans that the law banned all forms of processions, rallies or demonstrations. Referring to the Dickson’s antics, The DIG said: “This form of conduct will jeopardise the ongoing electoral process.”

    If what Dickson was calling for ran against the peace, it casts Dickson as a subversive in government house. According to the law, if a candidate violates such a law of peace, he ought to be prosecuted for electoral crime. He committed this crime in public, in the defiance of decency and the Nigerian grundnorm, the constitution of the country.

    Dickson did not only act against the law, he incited the citizens of the state against the Federal Government. And some of his party faithful obeyed and gathered in black clothes at the collation centre.

    What Dickson did was irresponsible and not worthy of any democracy here on earth.

  • Tension in Bayelsa as Dickson calls for protest during collation

    Tension in Bayelsa as Dickson calls for protest during collation

    Tension gripped Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital as residents waited for the arrival of results of the governorship election from two local government areas of Nembe and Southern Ijaw.

    Security was beefed up in the state capital with four Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) deployed round the state collation centre.

    Detachment of ant-bomb squad, anti-riot policemen and soldiers took over some strategic areas in Yenagoa to forestall breakdown of law and order.

    The Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, was live on the state owned Radio Bayelsa protesting the electoral process at time he was leading APC with over 28,000 votes.

    Dickson asked residents to hit the streets at 2pm for a rally to protest what was happening at the collation centre and vowed to lead the protest.

    The governor who fielded questions from listeners said: “There will be a rally to resist what is happening now. It is clear to me that security services have become an army of occupation”.