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Tag: Seriake Dickson

  • Ambode, Udom, Fayose seek more support for women

    Ambode, Udom, Fayose seek more support for women

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday called for deliberate and articulate policies to support female entrepreneurs in the country.

    Ambode made the call at the 17th National Women’s Conference organised by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials ( COWLSO ) with theme “She creates, She Transforms: Creativity and Skill Acquisition.”

    He spoke as the first female mechanic in Nigeria, Mrs Sandra Aguebor, was presented with the inspirational woman of the year award at the conference.

    “With the female population in our country today, it is clear that our women have the capacity to positively affect the Nigerian economy and are already doing so.

    “Supporting women businesses should no longer be seen as a social support or empowerment, but as a necessary step to revive and improve the economy,” Ambode said.

    He said that so far, N2.1 billion had been disbursed to 6,613 women under the state’s Employment Trust Fund (ETF), which represented 42 per cent of the total loans disbursed.

    According to him, the target is to ensure that at least 60 per cent of the loans are given to women.

    He restated the commitment of his government to the course of women, encouraging more women to approach the ETF and take advantage of other initiatives to support their businesses.

    Also, Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom commended the committee for keeping the vision envisioned for over 17 years.

    Emmanuel condemned racial, tribal and gender inequality, saying that the country needed to open more doors for women.

    He encouraged women not to look at the limiting lines drawn by history or politics, but rather live their lives creating and transforming.

    In a goodwill message, Gov. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State said that efforts must be made to constantly develop women.

    “A life without women will be full of crisis, it will be hopeless,” Fayose said.

    He advised men to stop seeing women as second fiddle.

    The Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa and Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo were also present at the event.

    NAN

  • Dickson calls for bi-partisan approach to restructuring Nigeria

    Dickson calls for bi-partisan approach to restructuring Nigeria

    Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has urged the Federal Government to set up a bi-partisan body to develop framework for the restructuring of the country.

    Dickson in statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Francis Agbo on Monday in Yenagoa, said restructuring debate should cut across party lines as the issues at stake were relevant and fundamental.

    He said the bi-partisan body should consist of federal officials, political parties, governors, state and national assemblies, organised labour, socio-cultural organizations and other critical stakeholders.

    The governor also advised President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently take steps to unite country as the nation go through a difficult phase in its history.

    Dickson believes that proponents of restructuring “are true patriots”, adding that the National Assembly alone would not be able to amend the Constitution sufficiently to address concerns and fears of Nigerians.

    “The present attitude of the Federal Government and the President on the issue of restructuring is something I disagree with.

    “I believe that this country has to have a meeting and discuss how we can make Nigeria more stable, prosperous and a Nigeria that can last and stand the test of time.

    “Those of us talking about restructuring are the true lovers of this country. There are those who feel they have advantages they want to protect and preserve, so they want the status quo maintained.

    “In that case, you are either talking about individual, regional or ethnic interests, so such people are not talking of the Nigerian interest.

    “Those of us calling for restructuring are protecting and preserving Nigeria’s corporate interest. The buck stops at the table of Mr. President. He has got to rise up to the occasion and unify this country more.

    “The country is too divided and left to drift for too long with this division. The division is getting deeper and deeper by the day and that is not good for the country we love.

    “Nobody should tell anybody in Bayelsa or any Ijaw or Niger Delta man that they love Nigeria more than us.

    “They don’t even understand the sacrifices we are making to keep Nigeria going. So, when we talk about restructuring, we are talking as Nigerian patriots.” Dickson stated.

    NAN

  • Bayelsa sets up special court to prosecute payroll fraud

    Bayelsa sets up special court to prosecute payroll fraud

    Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has authorised the establishment of special court to fast track the prosecution of those indicted in the payroll fraud in the state civil service.

    Recalls that Dickson had set up a prosecution team following staff verification exercise that uncovered 5, 000 ghost workers in Bayelsa public service.

    The governor spoke on Thursday in Yenagoa, when he addressed members of the Committee on Public Service Reforms.
    He said that government had alerted the Commissioner of Police and had constituted a committee to prosecute those inflicted in the fraud.

    The nine-man judicial commission is headed by Justice Doris Adokeme.

    “We have contacted the Commissioner of Police on the need for prosecution. I can assure you that no innocent person would be affected.

    “That is why the Judicial Commission of Inquiry is there. Anybody who has a case, anybody who feels he is not fairly treated has the chance to go there.

    “The prosecution team is waiting and the courts are waiting to commence action soon,” Dickson said.

    The governor reiterated his resolve to do everything necessary to stop the bleeding of the state finances by some greedy unscrupulous elements.

    Recalls that a staff audit constituted in May 2016 to probe the payroll fraud in the local government system discovered 3,243 unauthorised employees in the Rural Development Authorities, and 3,037 in the eight constitutionally recognised local government areas.

    Dickson lamented that the probe into the entire public service had uncovered widespread corruption costing the state about N1 billion every month.

    Dickson ordered the compilation of the names of the alleged salary fraudsters, during one of the meetings with the committee chaired by the Deputy Governor, retired Rear Adm. Gboribiogha John Jonah.

    According to Dickson, the first practical step towards implementing the painstaking reforms, is that those discovered to be drawing salaries from multiple agencies of the state, would stop receiving their pay with effect from October.

    Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Commissioner for Information and Orientation, confirmed this in a telephone interview that full action on the committee’s report would commence soon.

    “We are talking about fraud perpetrated over the years that has made the state to lose billions of Naira.

    “So if the governor, who demonstrated the courage to take on this evil, is making moves to prosecute them, then it should not be a surprise,’’ Iworiso-Markson said.

    NAN

  • Photo news: Wike visits Dickson

    Photo news: Wike visits Dickson

    Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson (right) exchanging pleasantries with the Governor of River State, Nyesom Wike (left) during a visit at Government House Yenagoa. Photo by Lucky Francis

    Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson (right) exchanging pleasantries with the Governor of River State, Nyesom Wike (left) during a visit at Government House Yenagoa. Photo by Lucky Francis 

    Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (centre) fielding question from Journalists during the Visit of the River State Governor , Nyesom Wike (2ndleft) to the State at Government House Yenagoa, while the State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiralm Gboribiogha John Jonah rtd, (left) looks on. Photo by Lucky Francis
    Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (centre) fielding question from Journalists during the Visit of the River State Governor, Nyesom Wike (2ndleft) to the State at Government House Yenagoa, while the State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah rtd, (left) looks on. Photo by Lucky Francis

     

    Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (left) and his River State counterpart, Nyesom Wike during a visit at Government House Yenagoa. Photo by Lucky Francis
    Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (left) and his River State counterpart, Nyesom Wike during a visit at Government House Yenagoa. Photo by Lucky Francis

  • Two arraigned for supplying ‘false information’ on Dickson’s brother

    The police on Tuesday arraigned two persons before the Magistrate Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, for supplying false information on Governor Seriake Dickson’s younger brother, Moses Dickson.

    The suspects – Francis Babatunde and John James – pleaded guilty for peddling false accusation against the governor’s brother.

    Babatunde, a plumber working in the residence of Dickson reportedly conspired with James and one Obiene Matthew, who is said to be at large, to send a report to the Inspector- General of Police (IGP) monitoring team that the governor’s brother was in possession of firearms and narcotics.

    Following the information, the police team besieged the residence of Dickson at Yenezue- Epie and demanded to ransack the house.

    It was gathered that after searching the house, policemen found nothing and were compelled to arrest the whistleblowers.

    The two accused persons were arraigned on two- count charge by Mr. Matthew Umana from the IGP team.

     

  • Restructuring will ensure fair and balanced Nigeria – Dickson

    Restructuring will ensure fair and balanced Nigeria – Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has said the Ijaws would insist on the restructuring of the country.

    He said restructuring woven around resource control, fiscal federalism and devolution of powers from the centre to the federating units would enthrone a fair, balanced and equitable country, where all ethnic groups would be proud to call their own.

    A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Francis Ottah Agbo, said Governor Dickson stated these while speaking with journalists shortly after a special inter-denominational church service to mark Nigeria’s 57th independence and the 21st anniversary of the creation of Bayelsa State at the King of Glory Chapel, Government House, Yenagoa, on Sunday.

    He urged Nigerians not to see the call as a threat to national security, adding that the Ijaws believe in the continuous and peaceful existence of Nigeria as one indivisible entity.

    While describing restructuring as an urgent national imperative, he urged those who are calling for it, to do so in the best interest of the country.

    Dickson submitted that restructuring would help in laying a better foundation for the future of the country and address the current challenges threatening the peace, stability and prosperity of the nation

    He said: We have to re-examine our nation’s foundation and see how we can make necessary adjustments that will promote a more stable and prosperous Nigeria. The current structure of the country 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 a foundation for Nigeria that will last for the next 100 to 200 years.

    “Our view as state, ethnic nationality and region is that, we support the call for restructuring but we must all sit down and agree on how we can re-adjust our country. We are Nigerians. Nobody is more Nigerian than a Bayelsan or Niger Deltan. Nobody has the right to question our Nigerianess. We are the people that have been sustaining this country with oil revenue.

    The governor used the opportunity to felicitate with President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians on the 57th independence anniversary and urged all to work for the good of the country.

  • Nigeria will implode without restructuring, says Dickson

    Nigeria will implode without restructuring, says Dickson

    The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has warned that without restructuring, agitations against injustices and imbalances were capable of driving the country to the point of implosion.
    Dickson, therefore, described persons and groups calling for the change in the current structure of the country as the true patriots of Nigeria.
    The governor insisted that without sitting down to re-examine the current structure, the country would continue to deal with eruptions of agitations from different ethnic nationalities.
    Dickson spoke 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, is not sustainable. Very often, a number of our leaders misconstrue the call for restructuring to mean seccession. No. Those calling for restructuring are the patriots of Nugeria 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 everyday 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”.
  • Bayelsa created 7, 000 jobs in five years -Dickson

    Bayelsa created 7, 000 jobs in five years -Dickson

    The Bayelsa Government said on Thursday in Yenagoa that it created over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs through the release of N1.88 billion loan to Small and Medium-scale to entrepreneurs and cooperatives.

    Gov Seriake Dickson stated this at the 2017 African SME EXPO with the theme `Promoting SMEs for sustainable development and economic growth’.

    Dickson, represented by his Deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd), said that his administration achieved the feat in partnership with the Bank of Industry and other relevant agencies.

    He said that the initiative enhanced the growth of SMEs with direct impact on the economic growth of the state.

    Dickson said that In furtherance to his commitment on job creation and empowerment of the teeming youths in the state, the government was also negotiating for a N2 billion Micro, Small and Medium Scale ( MSME ) Enterprenuership loan.

    He explained that in 2015, the government launched Izon Microfinance Bank to provide small businesses and serious minded entrepreneurs with access to capital.

    “This is important for us because funding is crucial, if people are to innovate and think outside the box.

    “We have achieved so much since the commencement of the Microfinance Bank, especially because the bank, with support provided by CBN and other funding partners, has supported women groups and cooperatives in the state to venture on their own.”

    Describing SMEs as panacea for the growth of the local economy, Dickson stressed the need for the promotion of locally made goods and as well as simplifying business registration process.

    “We need to deliberate in strengthening the existing institutions as in the Bayelsa example, where there is a law that one per cent of the annual state budget is released to the Bayelsa State Microfinance and Enterprises Development Agency for SME development yearly.

    “We must simplify the registration processes for businesses and encourage their migration from the informal to the formal sector through regulation and proper monitoring.

    “As leaders and opinion shapers, we need to encourage technology diffusion through value chain processes and establish priority sectors for local investment,” the governor said.

    Dickson recommended tax incentives for priority sectors, saying that it is a means of boosting local production.

    In addition, he advocated for training and incentives for the utilization of local production resources for SMEs that establish operations in certain designated areas.

    Dickson said the gains of his administration included the 60 tonnes per day Cassava starch factory at Ebedebiri in Sagbama that is linked with the cultivation of a 100-hectare cassava farm.

    “Our Aquaculture village at Yenegwe in Yenagoa, with fish processing complex capacity of 7.5 tonness per batch, 20 tonnes per day feedmill, 500 non-earthen ponds capable of accommodating 700 fishes, hatchery with six million fingerlings per animals.

    “Our plans, in collaboration with the Federal Government over the the Peremabiri Rice farms/mills in Southern Ijaw, is also one of the largest in Africa with a huge capacity that has started.

    “With that in mind, the construction of a 3.5 Kms run away Cargo Airport is under way in Bayelsa,” Dickson said.

    In his contribution Dr. Ebiekure Eradiri, the Director-General, Bayelsa State Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency, applauded Dickson’s vision and support for the MSMEs sub-sector.

    Eradiri said that that since Dickson took over the mantle of leadership in the state in 2012, he has been of tremendous support to the scheme.

    He stated that the Africa SME Expo event had increased the perspective and that the Agency was willing to pursue vigorously its mandate to achieve its cardinal projects on fund recovery, job creation and wealth creation for Bayelsa.

  • Makarfi: No rift between Jonathan, Dickson

    Makarfi: No rift between Jonathan, Dickson

    The National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Ahmed Makarfi has dismissed the alleged rift between former President Goodluck Jonathan and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson.

    Makarfi made the clarification on Tuesday while receiving the party’s Executive Committee members of the Bayelsa chapter of the PDP at the party’s Abuja secretariat.

    Recent media reports indicated that the alleged rift between Jonathan and Dickson was threatening the stability of the Bayelsa State chapter of the PDP.

    Makarfi told the Bayelsa delegation that he had discussed the alleged rift with Jonathan and that the former President had assured him that the reports were the handiwork of mischief makers for the purpose of creating crisis in the chapter.

    The party chair warned the leadership of the party in the state against yielding to the antics mischief makers who he said, were out to distabilise the party in the state.

    Makarfi said, “Don’t  allow yourselves to be fragmented by rumours. Your executive has been ratified by the convention and that is final. There is no need to pander to rumour of an impending sack of your executive”.

    The party chairman however admitted that a certain group of people filed a petition against the Bayelsa Governor and the executive committee of the state chapter but that he had dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.

    “Immediately the rumour broke out, the former President called me to dismiss that rumour and he said there was no iota of truth in the said petition against the Bayesla executive”, Makarfi said.

    Speaking earlier, the chairman of the Bayelsa chapter, Mr. Moses Cleopas, described Jonathan as a respected national leader who is held in high esteem by the people of the state.

    “The governor is our leader in the state and the two of them have been relating well. There is no feud between Jonathan and Dickson. I can confirm that. Some people are just envious of the peace in Bayelsa PDP”, Cleopas said.

  • Dickson applauds accreditation of 10 courses in NDU

    Dickson applauds accreditation of 10 courses in NDU

    Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has applauded the leadership of the state-owned Niger-Delta University (NDU) for securing full accreditation of 10 courses by the National University Commission (NUC).

    Dickson made the commendation when the Acting Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, presented to the governor the NUC’s 2017 May/June Accreditation report in Yenagoa.

    Dickson said in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, on Thursday in Yenagoa, that the government had released N200 million to enhance academic activities in the institution.

    He said he had directed the vice chancellor to liaise with the state Ministry of Education for the release of the balance of N21 million.

    “This government will spare no effort and resources, working with the university team, to ensure that NDU becomes one of the best universities in the country.”

    Dickson urged students seeking admission into universities in the country, to consider NDU, adding that the state government would continue to support the school to enhance learning.

    Earlier, while presenting the report, Edoumiekumo said the accreditation of 10 programmes was a feat in the institution’s history.

    According to him, some of the accredited courses are Law, Medical Laboratory Science and Mechanical Engineering.