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Tag: Mr. Seriake Dickson

  • Convention will determine PDP’s fate, says Dickson

    Convention will determine PDP’s fate, says Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, Wednesday, said the survival of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would depend largely on the outcome of its forthcoming December 9 convention in Abuja.

    Dickson, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Francis Agbo, spoke when a PDP National Chairmanship aspirant, Chief Bode George, visited him in Government House, Yenagoa.

    The governor, however, expressed fears that the window of opportunity to reorganize the PDP to enable it confront the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019 was fast closing.

    He prayed that, the convention would be used to relaunch the party and regain the trust of Nigerians.

    He said: “I have taken certain positions in terms of what is right for the party, in terms of how best to conduct ourselves, and how fast we need to move away from the mindset of the old to new ways of conducting party business and affairs”.

    Dickson seized the opportunity to congratulate Chief George on his 72nd birthday and thanked him for offering to serve the party.

    He described George as a man with the capacity, experience and other requisite qualities to contest for the PDP National Chairmanship position.

    He noted that, the crisis that engulfed the PDP was needless and urged party leaders to be tolerant, patriotic and put aside their personal differences in the overall interest of the party and the country’s democracy.

    Dickson further called for understanding among the aspirants and prayed for the conduct of a peaceful, free, and credible convention.

    He said if well-conducted the outcome of the convention should be acceptable to all, stressing the need for all to work together to get the processes right.

    Earlier, George explained that, he was in the state to solicit the support of Governor Dickson, as well as the state’s delegates to the December 9 convention in Abuja.

    He said: “I am here because the PDP is heading very soon to elect new managers to pilot the affairs of our great party and we need an experienced, tested captain to take the ship of our party safely back to harbour”

    According to George, there was a need for the party to revisit the experiences of the past and study them with a view to avoiding the mistakes that led to the defeat of the PDP in the last general election.

    He also called on those who dumped the PDP to return to the party.

    “Those of our friends who have moved to other parties, now know they are tenants, let them come home and become landlords,” he said.

    The aspirant prayed God to continually bless the governor with strength and wisdom to pilot the affairs of the state and complete his numerous development programmes to better the lots of the people.

  • Agip tackles restiveness in Niger Delta with Green River Project

    Agip tackles restiveness in Niger Delta with Green River Project

    The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has acquired a farm in Bayelsa State to train youths, women and local farmers in the Niger Delta on agriculture as part of its efforts to stop restiveness in the region.

    The oil giant also provided over 5000 poultry birds, 17,000 plantain suckers 100 banana suckers, 2,500 bundles of cassava stems, over 500 pineapple suckers and 350kg maize seeds to farmers in the region within the year.

    The Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, NAOC, Massimo Insulla, said at the weekend that the agricultural initiatives were all part of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company’s Green River Project.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, at the company’s 21st Farmers’ Day celebration, Insulla said over 2,000 yam seeds and 850,000 fingerlings were also distributed to farmers.

    He said the multinational in partnership with its joint ventures trained about 300 youths in agro-skills acquisition programme adding that NAOC inaugurated a 10-hectare plant propagation centre in Kwale, Delta State.

    “To further strengthen and sustain the future of Niger Delta, Eni companies in Nigeria have embarked on training of over 1000 vendors in capacity Development initiatives through our various programmes.

    “We have commitment to the Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) to provide one year specialist subsea engineering training for 10 NCDMB nominated engineers.

    “We have subsisting Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with Standard IBTC, Zenith Bank, and UBA for provision of credit facilities to our vendors at favorable rates”, he said.

    He said the annual Farmers’ Day is a project of the company and its joint venture partners designed to celebrate the achievements of farmers over the last planting season.

    Insulla, who said the celebration was being hosted for a second time in Bayelsa added that in the past 30 years, the project remained a prime source of employment and improvement of standard of living for various communities.

    He said the project served as a tool for sustainable development and food sufficiency, insisting that the annual project offered the platform to individual farmers and various cooperative societies to come together to showcase their products, produces and services.

    He said that the theme of this year’s celebration, ‘GRP: Actively leading the future of the Niger Delta’, was chosen to highlight the contributions and preparedness of Agip JV scheme to support the development of the communities.

    He said such development would come from boosting the capacity of the communities through training, extension services, technological support and knowledge transfer.

    In his welcome remarks, the General Manager, District, Marco Rotondi, said the GRP which started in 1986 has been visionary and pioneering.

    He said that in the next 30years, Nigeria would be the third largest country by population after China and India and there was the need to rethink how the country treats and distributes her resources.

    Rotondo said: ”Access to food will be extremely crucial. In addition, Nigeria has the impelling need to diversify its economy, which is solely relying on oil and gas.

    ”It is easy to understand focus and drive to make farming very attractive and accessible and to encourage the youth and especially the women to embrace a modern and mechanised agriculture.”

    The host Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson insisted that the only route to achieve prosperity in the country was self-reliance on agriculture instead of total dependence on oil and gas.

    Dickson, who was represented by his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd.), urged the people to embrace the emergence of agricultural revolution to achieve sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

    He said: ”I was very impressed with what I saw here because it is in line with what Bayelsa State, particularly in this time of oil infiltration that is taking place right from onset that Bayelsa must think beyond oil.

    ”With this, I state that there is no other way to go in this country today. The only route to go to prosperity, self-reliance is farming.

    ”These actions by Agip, not only to get our farmers empowered but also trained is very commendable and I urge you to continue with it. A good head with a good heart is what we need to move forward.

    ”Thankfully, Agip has a good head and heart and thus they gave to us. They have assisted in training and also empowering our young and old men and women who were once focused on oil as the only source of living and I am certain that they are benefitting from it today.

    ”I implore you all to embrace the emergence of agricultural revolution. We have the farms for it and the mechanized aspect has been inculcated in them.”

  • Mass sack looms as Bayelsa compiles names of payroll fraudsters

    Mass sack looms as Bayelsa compiles names of payroll fraudsters

    Panic has gripped workers in the Bayelsa State civil service following a directive by the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, that names of suspected payroll fraudsters should be compiled and removed from the system.

    The Committee of Civil Service Reforms (CCRS) set up by the governor to sanitise the public sector and clean up the payroll, was said to have received the backing of Dickson not to spare anybody indicted in the racket.

    Dickson inherited a wage bill of about N6bn when he took over the mantle of leadership in 2012 but battled to reduce it to about N3.5bn.

    A member of the committee, who spoke in confidence, said the war against the fraudulent civil service system was ongoing with ernest adding that names of the suspects were being compiled by the committee.

    Though the source refused to disclose the number of persons indicted so far, it was gathered that many civil servants had been fingered in the rackets and could be sacked and handed over to security agencies for prosecution.

    Some of the persons involved in the fraud were said to be collecting salaries simultaneously from different sources such as the local government areas, the Federal University, Otuoke and other agencies.

    It was gathered that Dickson on Monday directed his Deputy,  Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd), to ensure that those defrauding the state through multiple employments and other fraudulent activities were fished out.

    The source, who was privy to the directive, said Dickson insisted that the payroll fraud must be tackled under his administration to enable his successor inherit a sanitized system.

    He said the governor considered all the reports submitted on payroll fraud and formulate a state policy that would guide the government.

    He said: “The governor insisted that his deputy and his team should compile names of those involved and the amount of money the state will save from the eradication of the fraud.

    “The governor lamented that the fraud was rampant in the primary and secondary schools apart from the mainstream civil service and the parastatals”.

    Quoting the governor, he said: “I want us to reduce this voluminous report to a comprehensive government policy. There is need for specifics in the reports such as those who did not report for the verification exercise.

    “Who are the names being taken out; the salary component in the various places where these frauds are committed? How much will be saved from those taken out; I mean the total amount of money.

    “In the secondary and primary schools, we have two teachers and 30 non-academic staff, in some schools, we have two teachers to 15 non-academic staff. That cannot continue”.

    When contacted the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, confirmed that the governor held the meeting with the panel on civil service reforms on Monday.

    Though the commissioner failed to give details, he said that the governor was very serious about the issue of the reforms.

    “The governor will act in the interest of the citizens of the state, as it is aimed at sanitizing the system and re-positioning it for efficiency and greater productivity.

    “I know that the governor held a meeting with the various panels, the one on the civil service, the tertiary institutions, the secondary and primary schools and the local government areas.

    “All I can say for now is that this governor has the political will to take on this evil which has held down this state for long. Very soon the reforms will be made public through a special broadcast to the State by Gov. Dickson”, he said.

  • How my successor will emerge – Dickson

    How my successor will emerge – Dickson

    The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, at the weekend, hinted on the process that would lead to the emergence of his successor at the end of his second term in 2020.

    Dickson said whoever would take over from him must be a product of wide consultations, prayers and divine intervention.

    Speaking at a special prayer and thanksgiving to mark the 57 independence anniversary of Nigeria and 21st birthday of Bayelsa at the King of Glory Chapel, Government House, Yenagoa, the governor said the succession process would involve the entire state.

    But he vowed that the government would never again be returned to blackmailers, cultists and persons who ride on the blood others to occupy political positions.

    The governor particularly insisted that at the right time the state would come together for prayers to seek the face of God and beseech him to raise another team for the state.

    He asked persons jostling for political positions to take it easy and wait for the right time adding that it was too early to begin to eye the leadership of the state.

    He said: “I also remind those jostling for political positions too early to take it easy. In this state power does not come because you know how to blackmail more. It doesn’t come because you can plan with cultists to kill more people. In this state power comes only from God.

    “While it is legitimate for people to aspire or plan, the time is not yet ripe. We are still working. At the right time, we will call the state to prayers and we will consult and this God that we serve that has enabled us to stabilise our state, stopping unnecessary killing and brigandage in our state, this God that has enabled us to bring about development, this God on his own will raise the next team.

    “Tell them to cool their temper. We will pray, consult at the right time. Everybody will be carried along, then God will raise a team for us”.

    Dickson further called on the people of the state especially the elites to support and appreciate his government.

    He said his strides in different sectors especially in education where he had built many tuition-free boarding schools with free accommodation, uniforms, books and feeding for students deserved the support of the elites.

    Unfortunately, he said most times the elites only vilify his government as if they were cursed to always see nothing good in government.

    He said: “My brief plea today to all Bayelsans especially our elites, this state is not just for people to make money out of it. Our leaders should show more support and concerns about issues of development.

    “We have so much to do together. Even calling to encourage the government is important. I am calling for more cooperation, support and prayers. Continue to pray for me for wisdom, for guidance for energy and health to lead the team.

    “If you don’t wish your state well, who do you expect to wish your state well. All that the elites talk about is to bad-mouth their government and their state. It is as if that is a curse.

    “But even if it was, today, we have broken the curse. Our state needs cooperation, understanding and support. We need to show more love and encouragement”.

  • Advocates of restructuring are true patriots, says Dickson

    Advocates of restructuring are true patriots, says Dickson

    The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has described persons and groups calling for restructuring as the true patriots of Nigeria.

    The governor warned that without changing the current structure, agitations against injustices and imbalances were capable of driving the country to the point of implosion.

    The governor insisted that without sitting down to re-examine the existing structure, the country would continue to deal with eruptions of agitations from different ethnic nationalities.

    Dickson spoke at the weekend shortly after a special prayer and thanksgiving to mark the 57 independence anniversary of Nigeria and 21st birthday of Bayelsa at the King of Glory Chapel, Government House, Yenagoa.

    He said restructuring was part of the issues that informed his brand of politics and drove him to join pressure groups and associations such as the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD).

    He insisted that the aim of persons calling for restructuring was to promote a more stable and more prosperous country.

    Maintaining that the existing structure was not sustainable, the governor, who was accompanied to the special prayer session by members of his cabinet including his Deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd), said restructuring was different from secession.

    He said: “There is an urgent national imperative for us to review; maybe people have problems with the word restructuring. But we have to re-examine our nation’s foundation and see how we can make necessary adjustments that will promote a more stable and a more prosperous Nigeria.

    “The structure of the country as it is not sustainable. Very often, a number of our leaders misconstrue the call for restructuring to mean secession. No. Those calling for restructuring are the patriots of Nigeria because we want to lay the foundation for a Nigeria that will last for the next 50, 100, 200 years to come.

    “Most people forget that in the next 10 or 20 years this country will be one the most populous nations on the face of the earth. You can’t have that kind of high density of human population arguing every day and every time about injustices and imbalances. There will be an implosion.

    “So, it is best for us now to have a consensus. If there is any argument at all, it is how do we go about it, not whether we should attempt a restructuring or not. That to me is taken for granted”.

    Dickson praised President Muhammadu Buhari’s stance on restructuring saying the President had said he was not opposed to changing the structure to maintain the unity of the country.

    He said Bayelsa as a state, the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta were in support of restructuring adding that issues affecting different parts of the country should be tabled for discussion.

    He said:  “I am happy that the President said he is not opposed to restructuring. Our view in this state, our view that I have canvassed all my politics, our view as a state, as Ijaw nation and in the Niger Delta is that we support the call for restructuring so that we can all sit down and agree on how we can readjust our country.

    “We are Nigerians. Nobody is more Nigerian than us. Nobody is more Nigerian than a Bayelsan or a Niger Delta man. We are the people that have been sustaining this country for over 60 years.

    “Nobody has the right to question our Nigerianess. All we are saying is that we need to all sit down together, work out the issues we can agree on and address them amicably instead of having to deal with agitations every year.

    “It is giving this country a bad name and it is stopping Nigeria from realising our God-given potential as the greatest black nation on the face of the earth”.

  • ‘Dickson fulfilling dreams of Bayelsa founding fathers’

    ‘Dickson fulfilling dreams of Bayelsa founding fathers’

    The Robert Sunday Iworiso Foundation, Friday, appraised the achievements of Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, saying he had kept faith with the dreams of the state founding fathers.

    The Non-Government Organisation (NGO) established by former Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, in honour of his late father, rejoiced with Dickson and the people as Bayelsa marked 21st anniversary.

    The Director of the foundation, Chief John Alphonsus Iworiso in a statement said despite numerous challenges, Bayelsa had continued to experience rapid progress.

    The statement recalled the agitation for the creation of the state and the efforts of the founding fathers and said everyone was proud of the numerous achievements made so far by the state.

    It commended Dickson for keeping alive the dreams and visions of the founding fathers through deliberate programmes and policies that had changed the face of the state and positioned it for greatness.

    The foundation listed Dickson’s achievements as the transformation of the health sector, revival of education, revamping of Agriculture, massive investment in critical public infrastructure, amongst others.

    ‎The NGO prayed Bayelsans to rally round and support the government of the day in order to sustain the existing peace and move the state forward‎ to its deserved height.

    It condemned in strong terms those who never see anything good in what the government had done because of their self-serving agenda and urged them to put Bayelsa first.

    The statement said: “The administration of His Excellency, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson has done well in every parameter to measure performance in governance. Look at the public sector reforms, the new level of transparency and accountability and so on. As an NGO we are proud of the new things happening in the state.

    “It is therefore imperative to call on Bayelsans to join hands with the government to achieve more success. This is not about ‘I don’t like ‎the governor or I don’t belong to his party’, far from it. It is about our collective future as a people.

    “How long are we going to engage in Pull Him Down Syndrome and other acts inimical to our growth. The time has come to jettison selfish and individual interest. Politics will come and go so will leaders but our state will remain for us. God has ordained it now that it is Seriake Dickson and we must accept it so”.

  • Ijaw family floats foundation to boost education

    Ijaw family floats foundation to boost education

    Unlike before, Ijaw is becoming more educationally aware. The people have learnt that there is no alternative to education. They now know that sending their children and wards to schools is the best way to conquer their world.

    In fact, education fever is made popular by the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson. He has made the sector a critical part of his administration. He has invested more money in education than other sectors building infrastructures and instituting programmes to encourage excellence in learning.

    Some spirited individuals and foundation have also emerged to complement his efforts.

    Recently, to stimulate learning and encourage academic activities, a foundation, the Seiyifa and Grace Koroye (SGK) Foundation and Legacy Awards, inaugurated an essay competition for senior secondary school students.

    The foundation was established by Chief Koroye and his wife with encouragement from their children during their 40th marriage anniversary to underscore the importance of education.

    The family is a product of education. Chief Koroye conquered his territory and came tops as a celebrated achiever through academic ladders. As a child of the Federal College Warri in 1969, he won an award in essay writing. His world changed. Little wonder, he decided to give back to the society by exposing children to a similar process that brought the best out of him.

    Koroye shared his experience. He said: “I won nationwide essay competition in 1969 which was instituted and funded by the United State’s Embassy, Nigeria. At that time, I was given a full University Scholarship and they called it John Health Kennedy Memorial Essay Contest”.

    He said there was a connect between the essay competition trophy he held in 1969 in the front page of the Daily Times newspaper and the one he had put up for grabs through his foundation.

    “The thing is, there is a dynamic element in such because as a result of my victory, when I went to the village, I was flanked by my friends celebrated for two weeks non-stop and it made so many parents to send their children to school in the 1970s.

    “They were  marveled that education could create a national recognition. The Ijaw nation was very proud of me. Allow me share the same enthusiasm with my children and I hope it grows bigger than it is. It is an healthy competitive rivalry.

    “The young people who win and those who participate will share a common drive towards excellence and do better than they are doing now”.

    The scholar attributed the foundation and the essay competition to the efforts of his children. He said his children conceived the ideas recently when they set up the foundation and legacy award.

    “This whole stuff was conceived by our children at our 40th anniversary party which they organized for us on the 12th February this year. It was a surprise to us as they brought a trophy and said they were instituting a foundation and legacy award.

    “It felt good to know that your children could go ahead of you and act beyond your thoughts, do something remarkable as well as celebrate and memorialize you even when you are alive”, he said.

    One of the Koroye’s children, Ayibanua, emphasized the reason behind the foundation and essay competition. He recalled that 60 years ago, their parents began their life journey through education as a vehicle.

    “That vehicle carried them from elementary to secondary and ultimately graduate school. As they excelled not only from their inherent intelligence but from complimentary diligence, awards and accolades naturally followed.

    “Their reward was exposure to higher levels of education as their proficiencies increased. In some strange way their stories were the same though taking place in different parts of the country from Orua to Maiduguri, Warri to Enugu converging in Ibadan and ultimately in the United Kingdom.

    “Their testaments- certificates, awards and degrees – only served as fuel for their championing the value of education in their families  communities and beyond. So in actual fact, you could say that the SGK Foundation is 50 years or more in the making -we are only officially giving it a name and a platform”, he said.

    He said at least 100 people had passed through their home sponsored through schools by his parents. He recalled that before his parents built houses and established themselves, they had invested massively in people’s education and future.

    He said: “Their families, communities, mechanics, neighbors and even house-helps were not left out of this crusade as they were encouraged to educate their children to the highest degrees and even pursue adult education.

    “They did not stop at lip service. It was demonstrated in financial support, admission assistance, accommodation and individual counseling. As their children, growing up in such an environment, we inadvertently imbibed these virtues.

    “So in commemoration of their 40th anniversary of a marriage so rich and fruitful, we thought it fit to institute the SGK Foundation and Legacy Awards as a testament to this phenomenal couple. Their legacy is not only their individual achievements but the sense of duty and service that accompanied every award demonstrated in the many changed lives that have crossed their paths”.

    In fact, SGK Foundation was berthed to celebrate educational achievements, institute essay competition, contribute to the awareness of education and highlight the empowerment it portends for the youths in the Niger Delta region and beyond.

    The essay competition meant for Senior Secondary School three (SS3) will reward first to third positions with N200,000, N100,000 and N50,000. The foundation also has a provision to encourage pupils in primary schools. Pupils’ scores from class three to five will be calculated and summed up with the first going home with N50,000; second N30,000 and third N20,000.

    Already, a committee for the competition had been inaugurated. It is to be chaired by the immediate past state Chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Mr. Michael Afenfia. Other members of the committee are Dr. Ebi Yeibo, Nengi Ilagha and Perekibene Berezi.

    Afenfia said the focus on essay was because of its coverage of the entire human existence. He essay competition helps students to extensively prepare their minds, organise themselves and bring out the analytical skills in them.

    “All these are the requirements for developing a child and preparing them for the future in cognizance with the saying that they are the future leaders. It makes them confident, competent and broad-minded.

    “Readers are leaders and a good essay writer is a good reader, a voracious one. This is also meant to make them engaged constructively and productively devoid of thinking or perpetrating evil”, he said.

    Afenfia said the foundation had a relationship with ANA, the ministry of education and the governor’s office. He thanked the Koroye’s family for giving back to the society.

    Also, Mrs. Koroye thanked Dickson for supporting the foundation adding that the governor was a first donor when the foundation was initially inaugurated. She encouraged others to support the efforts of the foundation.

  • Bayelsa, German team develop plan to curb European migration

    The African Tide Union (ATU) is worried about high level of unemployment in Nigeria especially in the Niger Delta region. ATU, a German-based organisation blames desperation among the youths of the Niger Delta to travel abroad on lack of employment opportunities in their states.

    But the union has taken time to develop an actionable plan to create jobs and discourage migration to Europe through illegal routes. The Bayelsa State Government is interested in the plan. The government of Mr. Seriake Dickson, wants the union to use Bayelsa as a launching pad for the project.

    A 10-member team of ATU, led by the union’s President, Roselyn Dressman, recently presented the Niger Delta Master Plan for the job-creation project to the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) in Government House, Yenagoa.

    Already, ATU in partnership with the state government has organised an event to profile youths in the state and educate them on the need for them to embrace the programmes contained in the master plan.

    At the heart of the plan is the establishment of a craft centre with the capacity of training 800 youths on various skills every year. The centre is to be constructed with libraries, workshop centres, laboratories and production centres for various occupational skills.

    Dressman said African Tide is a certified educational content provider in Europe. She said the union’s educational centre is at the heart of Dortmund in Germany adding that the centre turns out 200 trained persons every year in Germany. She said the union was qualified to replicate and drive the project in Nigeria.

    She said the Niger Delta master plan entitled, Reduce Migration, Activate Returnees (Red-Mas) was developed to stop desperate migration of youths from the Niger Delta to European countries.

    She said having watched the Niger Delta crisis from a distance, the union worked for five years to package the plan to reduce frustration among youths and create comfort for them at their domains.

    She said the union was worried about the rising number of desperate migrants adding that last year 600,000 persons abandoned Nigeria for Europe out of which 70 per cent came from the Niger Delta.

    Dressman said the master plan when implemented would create series of activities and projects including a Handcraft Centre where youths would be taught vocational skills to enable them become employers of labour.

    She  said: “This migration is not good for us, it is draining our resources. You are a marginalised group and if you don’t wake up from your marginalisation by yourselves, you will never come out if it.

    “I employ everybody to join in this vision to find jobs for our youths, we have to make them comfortable in their own soil. In Germany or anywhere in the shores of Europe, there is nothing to take there. Things are not like the old times.

    “Finding feet in Germany is very difficult especially when the youths are not educated. I can show you disheartening pictures of youths trying to cross the Sahara Desert. People die while crossing the desert and the sea.

    “Apart from that, they ensalve themselves. Just imagine the old story of slavery coming back. We even give ourselves to them as slaves. Many of our children are out there in Mali, Libya wishing to come back home but they can’t come back because there is no means for them to come back.

    “Some of them are used even for sex slavery. That is why we should together look into how we can stop our children from embarking in this dangerous journey. As part of that we develop the Niger Delta Master plan. The problem is not only in Bayelsa, it befalls the whole of Niger Delta.

    “Today we present Red-Mas with different types of activities. African Tide is very successful. We are in different countries. We want to be here too. I am from Bayelsa State. It is my personal interest to see that it works. We have come here to curb the problems of migration from where it originated”.

    Also speaking, the union’s Youth Ambassador, Tarilaya Weber, said most Nigerian youths in Europe were heartbroken adding that African Tide maintains an asylum-seeking home to accommodate the frustrated youths.

    In his remarks, Jonah said the state government was excited at the partnership since its motive was to engage youths in meaningful ventures. He lamented dangers faced by youths, who tried to cross to Europe through illegal routes such as the deserts and the Mediterranean, saying it was time to build confidence among youths in the region.

    He said: “Some of these migrants end in Libya; they couldn’t cross, others venture into the Mediterranean and in most cases they don’t get across. The statistics is very frightening. They are so desperate at times that they don’t know about the risk, they just want to go.

    “There are also agencies that exploit their vulnerability, expose them to these dangers. I am happy with the Red-Mas. This is one of the opportunities you are creating for people to return back”.

    The deputy governor appealed to the youths to embrace the opportunity offered by the partnership adding that people must embrace the attitude of hard work.

    He said part of the problems was the neglect of the vocational skill components of the 6-3-3-4 educational system by the government.

    “The 6-3-3-4 system clearly on paper specified what should be done to overcome the deficiency in the educational system. But for one reason or the other we haven’t been able to follow it through.

    “This could be a very good example for others to follow so that vocational training is given to our youths so that when they finish they will become employers of labour. They have to restore their dignity back”.

  • Niger Delta: FG moves to establish oil, gas institute in Bayelsa

    Niger Delta: FG moves to establish oil, gas institute in Bayelsa

    …Orders fingerprinting of crude oil to end pipeline vandalism

     

    The Federal Government has concluded arrangements to establish an oil and gas institute in Bayelsa State as part of ongoing negotiations to tackle developmental problems in the Niger Delta region.

    President Muhammadu Buhari administration has been rolling out palliatives and infrastructural packages to develop human capacity and quell agitation in the region.

    The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, made the disclosure, yesterday, when he visited Yenagoa, the state capital, for some official engagements.

    While paying a courtesy visit to the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, the minister said the institute would be sited in Odi, a community in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, that suffered military invasion under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Onu, who was received by the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) said the institute, when established would improve manpower in the Niger Delta and reduce unemployment in the country.

    He said siting of the institute in Bayelsa was strategic because of the contributions of the state to oil and gas sector in the country.

    The minister said the institute would enhance development of skills among the people of the region to stimulate the local economy and create activities in the oil-producing communities.

    He said: “The institute will not only create jobs and improve skills, but it will also create wealth. We need to develop capacity in oil and gas processes in the country”.

    The minister, who was also in Odi, to inaugurate the ultramodern Bioresources Laboratory complex and the livestock feed milling complex at the Bioresources Development Center (BIODEC),said the government was deploying technology to monitor pipelines and track the country’s oil.

    He said the laboratory would be deployed to investigate pipeline breaches following its capacity to embed fingerprints in oil.

    He said with the facility oil theft would soon be a thing of the past, as the fingerprinting would enable the country to track its crude oil anywhere when stolen and solve the problem of economic sabotage.

    Onu said the fingerprinting of the country’s crude oil would begin at the end of the year insisting that the technology could be deployed in the country.

    He said the country under the current administration had come of age and capable of solving her problems instead of depending on outsiders.

    He said: “This lab, the ultramodern laboratory, I feel very happy; for me, Nigeria is changing. With this capacity here now, we will be able to do many things.

    “I just gave them an instruction that by the end of the year, we should have fingerprinting of our crude oil, so that if anybody steals it we will be able to identify it, because even crude oil can have fingerprints and with the equipment we have here we can do it in Nigeria.

    “One problem that we have is that we rely on outside, from other people to solve our problems. We produce crude oil, we export it, but we now import refined petroleum products.

    “We exports our woods and we bring in toothpicks. We don’t want that anymore and for you to do all this things we rely on others, we have to look inward and we need to build capacity and what this facility is doing for us.

    I just mentioned to you now that you can do genome mapping of our rare crops, plants, animals that are unique to us. We can even have fingerprints of our own crude oil.

    “Normally, this is something we spent a lot of money and you ask other people to do it. Now, when we do it here, it is our person that will do it here, that is how to create jobs, that is how to create wealth because that money you could have sown outside will now be here and be use it here. Even though we are the largest economic in Nigeria, we want to bigger than that that.

    “We also need to fight poverty, if you create jobs, you will fight poverty, if you train people, you fight poverty and that’s what they are doing here and I think we are ready to fight poverty.”

    Also speaking, the Director-General of the Institute, Josiah Habu, said the target of the research center was to bring reliability, quality, originality, innovation and novelty to research and development.

    He said the inauguration of the facilities had officially opened the gateway to a higher level of bioresources prospecting and processing to new products and services.

    Habu said: “For a start, the quest for the DNA of Nigeria crude oil will soon be answered, to enable tracking of Nigeria crude oil flow globally, hence solve national problem of economic sabotage.”

  • Ijaw people most marginalised, says Dickson

    Ijaw people most marginalised, says Dickson

    The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has described Ijaw people of the Niger Delta as the most unfairly treated in the entire country.

    Dickson in a statement signed Monday by his new Chief Press Secretary, Mr, Francis Agbo, spoke when the Roland Oweilaemi-led Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) visited him in his office in Yenagoa.

    He asked the youths to continue projecting issues of economic marginalisation and environmental pollution affecting the region.

    Dickson urged them to collaborate with the government in addressing the age-long problems of underdevelopment of the Ijaw nation by successive administrations at the federal level.

    He said: “The Ijaw nation is oppressed in Nigeria, and those of us in positions should fight and protect the Ijaw interest. The weapons and strategy for the struggle must change.

    “For 60 years, there is no road to Bonny and Brass, where crude oil is lifted daily. No airport in the Ijaw nation, no oil company operating in the state pays taxes to contribute to the economy.

    “The IYC must continue to raise the legitimate issues without fear of intimidation. I expect you to mobilise and raise the consciousness of the people about the precarious situation we are in”, said the Governor.

    He lamented the state of the region despite its huge contributions to the economic growth of the nation.

    He called on political leaders and persons in positions of trust to protect the collective interest of the Ijaw people.

    But Dickson said that the struggle to emancipate the Ijaw nation was no longer about carrying weapons, “but through intellectual and persuasive means”.

    The governor regretted that there were no boarding schools and functional hospitals in Bayelsa after 20 years of its creation until his administration came and changed the narrative.

    He also appealed to the youths to shun all forms of vices, including cultism and drug abuse.

    Earlier, in his opening remarks, Oweilaemi said Dickson succeeded in giving the Ijaw nation a sense of direction, purpose and a respectable identity in the comity of ethnic nationalities.

    He called on the Federal government to allow the people of the region to establish and manage the proposed modular refineries in the region.

    He added that it is one way the people of the region would be compensated for all the degradation they had been subjected to.

    The youth leader reiterated the 90-day ultimatum to all oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to relocate their corporate headquarters to the region, in line with the directive of the federal government.