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  • Ex-Bayelsa commissioner, Iworiso-Markson, bags doctorate at UNN

    Ex-Bayelsa commissioner, Iworiso-Markson, bags doctorate at UNN

    A former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Bayelsa state, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, has bagged a doctorate at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu state.

    Iworiso-Markson, who was awarded a PhD in Public Relations on Tuesday, July 16, by the institution, said he would commit the achievement to mentoring interested individuals seeking a career in media, political communications, and public relations.

    Iworiso-Markson said his new academic achievement had added to his capacity as a thoroughbred professional with an enviable work experience spanning over 30 years of consistent communications practice in journalism, advertising, public relations, events, and branding.

    The former commissioner added that the PhD degree had also reinforced his desire to use his industry experience to mentor practising and aspiring media advisors, information officers, and others within the communication value chain.

    According to him, one of the greatest challenges bedevilling public officeholders remains the kind of media aides they hire as evident in most of the gaffes in their policy and press statements.

    He explained that as image makers, media aides and advisors occupy very critical positions and must get on the job with the required competence obtained from hands-on training by experts.

    The former commissioner stated that alongside other renowned professionals from within and outside the country, he would be organizing periodic masterclasses to guide and provide basic knowledge on all-around strategic media engagement.

    He said: “I have always had the desire to share my knowledge and experiences in the media industry with upcoming and prospective practitioners, but this is the right time to do so.

    “In 2020, after serving my beloved state, first as Chief Press Secretary to then Governor Henry Seriake Dickson and later as Commissioner for Information and Orientation, I decided to go back to school to equip myself in my core field.

    “Today, and to the glory of God, I have been certified with a Doctorate degree in Public Relations. This might be a modest feat considering the number of PhD holders out there, but the focus of it is what matters to me.

    Read Also: Reps: We’ll vote massively for Iworiso-Markson —Ogbia communities

    “I will be launching a media centre in the near future to embark on a whole range of tasks including political communication, articulation and execution of policy, determination of editorial direction, crisis management, media management, communications, and team management, among others.

    “Social media communications will be a core of my masterclasses. This is because of the importance of that medium of information dissemination. A lot of people, organizations, and governments are trying to develop strategies and execute various activities in the management of media relations, but sadly, most of them are doing it the wrong way.

    “So, my commitment to raise a new legion of competent media and communications professionals is the gist behind this PhD. I will be collaborating with other renowned resource persons within and outside the country to make this happen”.

  • We will complete N50bn bond repayment in June, says Bayelsa

    The Bayelsa State Government has said it would complete repayment of the N50bn bond facility obtained by the former administration of Chief Timipre Sylva by June this year.

    The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said in Yenagoa that it was part of the major resolutions reached at the State Executive Council meeting.

    In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, the Commissioner noted that, when completed, funds currently being used to service the bond would be channelled towards finishing key ongoing projects in the state.

    Iworiso-Markson who listed the priority projects to include the Sagbama-Ekeremor Road, Yenagoa-Oporoma Road and Ayama/Ogbia-Okodi Road, said government had already worked out funding modalities in its bid to expedite work on the projects.

    Read also: FOBTOB institutes empowerment scheme for members’ children

    According to the commissioner, the council reaffirmed the present administration’s resolve to bequeath legacies for successive governments to build on, for sustainable development of the state.

    He said: “We are determined as a government to finish well and strong. Going by the resolutions reached in Council, it is clear that this government will leave no stone unturned to ensure that we deliver optimally to Bayelsans.

    “Our resolve is that Bayelsans at the end of the day will judge this government by the footprint we’ve been able to establish. Everything we’ve done from day one to this moment is a testament to our resolve to leave lasting legacy that even successive governments will follow.”

    Expatiating on the funding modalities, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Maxwell Ebibai, noted that the state government was expanding the “Contractor Infrastructure Development Finance Scheme”, a model which was used in financing other critical infrastructural projects in the state.

    Under the scheme, he said contractors were empowered to borrow funds from financial institutions to execute projects and present their certificates of work done for government to pay.

    Ebibai pointed out that the model helped to check the issue of slow pace or outright abandonment in the execution of government projects.

    He said: “The Contractor Infrastructure Development Scheme is essentially to ensure that contractors have unhindered access to funds. Under the scheme, the state does not borrow but the contractors may borrow to execute government jobs so that the projects will not slow down or stop.

    “The state government only guarantees for payment for jobs already done. It is some kind of public private partnership arrangement between the state, contractors and banks. In this scheme, we are considering projects that we cannot manage from our monthly cash flow.”

  • Bayelsa generates N13.6bn IGR in 2018

    Bayelsa State Government on Thursday said it generated internal revenue of N13.6bn in 2018 against N4.5bn it realised in 2012 when Governor Seriake Dickson took over power.

    The state Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) spoke in Government House, Yenagoa during the monthly transparency briefing for November and December 2018.

    He attributed the improvement in the state IGR to prudent and painstaking measures put in place by the Dickson-led administration to boost the revenue profile of the state in the last seven years.

    Jonah, however, said the present administration was still not satisfied with the current IGR, and therefore poised to intensify its revenue drive particularly in the area of tax collection.

    He said: “Our target was to be able to take care of half of salary obligations from tax receipts. We have not been able to meet that target but we have been able to make real progress.

    Read Also: APC ready to win February poll, says Akpabio

    ” We are intensifying efforts as our tax drive is still going on. If we are able to increase the IGR level, even if the allocation from the federal level falls very low, we should be able to pay salaries without any stress.”

    Giving account of the income and expenditure for the month of December 2018, he announced a gross inflow of N15 billion from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

    The amount, according to him included 13% derivation of N8.9bn, statutory allocation N3bn, foreign exchange equalisation N2bn, Value Added Tax N898million, and refunds from other states N57.5million.

    He said total FAAC deductions gulped N1.5bn, comprising restructured commercial bank loans of N741 million, bond N421 million, refund of overpayment of 13% derivation to other states N128 million and Excess Crude Account Facility of N126 million.

    He put the total funds available for spending in December at N15 billion comprising net FAAC inflow of N13.6 billion, November IGR of N1.4billion and refund from local government salary bailout refund, N16 million.

    On the outflows, Rear Admiral John Jonah said government spent a total of N6.3 billion, comprising bank loans of N2bn, salaries of civil servants and political appointees N3.2bn, and grant to tertiary institutions, N630 million.

    Other expenditure items include Christmas bonus N238 million, 10% contribution to primary school teachers salary payment N45 million, and NYSC members allowance of N40 million.

    According to the deputy Governor, funds available at the end of December stood at N4bn while recurrent and capital payments amounted to N11 billion.

    Earlier, he said the state received a Net FAAC inflow of N13.6bn and expended a total of N6.6 billion for the month of November last year.

    In his remarks, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson expressed satisfaction with the achievements recorded by the Governor Dickson-led administration in the area of infrastructural development.

    He said the effective implementation of policies and programmes including the monthly transparency briefing has continued to earn Dickson accolades and awards from reputable media organisations.

    Iworiso-Markson who lauded media practitioners for their support and contributions towards the success of the present administration in the last seven years urged them to maintain the kind gesture for the benefit of the state.

  • ‘We won’t surrender Bayelsa to failed politicians’

    The Bayelsa State Government on Saturday said it would not hand over the state to failed politicians angling  desperately to return to power through the backdoor  in 2019.

    The State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson implored voters to reject them and permanently retire them from politics.

    Iworiso-Markson said it was highly regrettable that persons, who failed to develop the state when they had the opportunity, are trying to teach Governor Seriake Dickson meaning of governance. 

    He said such persons launched series of coordinated attacks including playing politics with security to discredit the Dickson-led administration.

    But he said the individuals, who lacked scorecard, had failed in their new devilish mission failed and had been rejected by the people of the state.

    He said the people of the state would not forget in a hurry the level of insecurity, underdevelopment and large scale human rights abuses during the last government.

    The commission further challenged them to list the projects they successfully executed during their time in government or forever remain silent. 

    He explained that if the billions they recieved in the over five years they spent in office was not frittered away, the people would have been celebrating them.

    He noted that their ugly past made them strangers and enemies of the people. 

    Iworiso-Markson added that they were daily frustrated and shamed by the way Dickson  made governance simple through prudent utilization of public funds.

    Read Also: Bayelsa solicits public support for war against cultism

    He maintained that the restoration government was not surprised about their new campaign against the world class airport built to open the state for economic prosperity.  

    He said if not for their constant amnesia, they wouldn’t have forgotten in a hurry how they spent billions of naira on survey and sand-filling work, on an airport project that till date remained the biggest scam by any government. 

    He said: “If not for the political party they belong to, they would have been cooling their heels in jail. It is saddening that some expired politicans who have fallen out of favour with Bayelsans will be questioning the economic viability of the Bayelsa International Airport. This is the same thing they did in the past about the Ogbia/Nembe road. 

    “This diaspora politicians had the opportunity of building an airport but did not and rather used the money earmarked for it to siphon billions of naira. Today, they stay wherever they are outside the state to criticize this government that has done so well.

    ” I feel pained that Bayelsans are not asking them questions. Most of them don’t even have houses here, they can’t boast of any investment but take delight to run down the government. Another election is coming and they are beating the drums of war”.

    “I appealed to youths in the state to resist the temptation of being used by the self-seeking politicans to perpetrate violence during the election, insisting that no blood must be shed on account of the ambition of any politician.  

    “The government is fully aware of their plans to recruit agents of destabilization to cause confusion in the state ahead of the election but we assure them that they will fail. We call on Bayelsans to keep rejecting them. The next year’s general elections is an opportunity to finally retire them from politics”.

  • Bayelsa to youths: Shun desperate politicians

    Bayelsa State Government on Wednesday urged youths to protect their future by identifying and shunning political desperadoes ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson told the youths that the electoral season would throw up desperate politicians, who would adopt wicked measures including riding on the blood of the youths to power.

    Speaking to a group of youths under the auspices of the National Union of Ogbia Students (NUOS), Iworiso-Markson, appealed to youngsters not to allow themselves to be used as instruments to cause violence and destabilise the state.

    He said desperate politicians were only interested in exploiting the energy of the youths to win elections and thereafter abandon them only to return to beg then with paltry sum of money after four years.

    He charged the Ogbia students to stand firm and resist the usual gimmick but to mobilise support for aspirants known for their performance and love for their people.

    Iworiso-Markson told the youths to be peaceful in their conducts during elections, saying, “your lives are more important than the ambition of a desperate politician”. 

    The information commissioner said his passion in life was to see to the development of young people with the capacity to rule their world. 

    He assured them of his support in their various programmes, particularly the campaign against social vices in Ogbia.

    He said: “Let me thank you for coming and for taking up the sensitization to curb the rampaging issue of cultism, abuse of alcohol and drug addiction. It is imperative to curb these menace as well as proffer possible solutions needed.

    “I endorse the programme and affirm my total support. This is because the rate of cultism and other social vices in Ogbia is alarming. 

    Read Also: Bayelsa gets new police commissioner

    “There is a general break down in the family and when you have a broken home, social vices are inevitable. So we will address the problem from the root because we don’t want any Ogbia child to die due to cultism again”.

    Earlier, the group’s Leader, Damini Patrick, commended the Government of Governor Seriake Dickson for the development of Bayelsa State, especially Ogbia local government area.

    He listed some of the projects to include the construction of Imiringi and Opume bridges which are about 90 percent completed, internal roads, among others. 

    Damini also appreciated the commissioner for his enormous contributions towards the development of Ogbia kingdom and the youths in particular and prayed God to continue to bless him.

    He said: “The Ogbia students are really proud of you for piloting the affairs of the Restoration Government in this ministry gallantly. And we are strongly behind you. 

    “We are here to talk about our upcoming programme. There is a saying that if you want to harvest for a year then you should plant rice, if you want to harvest for 10 years you should plant tress but if you want to invest for hundred years then educate a child. And education to us is path to success.

    “Dr. Goodluck Jonathan established a school in Otuoke because he knew that through education a better LG is assured. But recently in Ogbia kingdom, our youths are deviating from education and now indulge themself in cultism, alcoholism and drug addiction and so many other social vices.

    “I and my executives came together and said we need to fight this, this is a collective effort and we came up with the theme; curbing social vices in Ogbia Kingdom. So we thought it wise to see you as our representative in the restoration government to assist us in this program”.

  • Monkey Pox: 7 patients recover fully in Bayelsa

    Monkey Pox: 7 patients recover fully in Bayelsa

    Seven out of the 13 monkey pox patients on admission at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri in Bayelsa have fully recovered, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, has said.

    The commissioner said in a statement on Wednesday in Yenagoa, that the seven patients had been discharged from the hospital.

    The contagious disease broke out three weeks ago in Agbura area of Yenagoa following reports that a family manifested symptoms of monkey pox after eating monkey meat.

    He said the six other patients under medical surveillance at the teaching hospital were responding positively to treatment.

    “The government has been able to successfully contain the spread of the disease as no new case has been reported in the last few days.

    “With the way and manner government deployed its machinery and with the team of dedicated health and medical personnel, monkey pox will soon be fully kicked out of Bayelsa state,” he added.

    Iworiso-Markson commended the state Ministry of Health and National Centre for Disease Control for their efforts in containing the disease.

    The commissioner also appreciated people in the state for taking preventive measures against further spread of the disease and urged them to maintain healthy lifestyle, environmental and personal hygiene.

    According to him, feedback received from various channels in the state indicates that public enlightenment campaign, especially in local languages, have succeeded in alerting people to avoid actions that would further spread the disease.

    NAN