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Tag: Seriake Dickson

  • APC, PDP trade words as WAEC withholds Bayelsa’s results

    APC, PDP trade words as WAEC withholds Bayelsa’s results

    The Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, lamented that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of the state’s indigenous candidates.

    The party said the examination body took the action following the inability of the state government led by Mr. Seriake Dickson, to pay the required fees of the candidates.

    But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fired back describing the position of the APC as a mischievous and total display of ignorance.

    APC in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Panebi Fortune, regretted that under Dickson a generation of youths was on the verge of being wasted with the seizure of the results.

    “WAEC had refused to release the results over unpaid debts owed it by the Bayelsa state government. By implication, pupils who made respective cut-off marks in the last Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) might forfeit their admissions”, the party said.

    The party berated Dickson, accusing him of deliberately scuttling the destinies of bright children who are leaders of tomorrow.

    APC said: ”While the situation of the non-payment of teachers’ salaries in Bayelsa continues to be an embarrassment to all and sundry even as the governor’s deliberate impoverishment of public servants has now become an ego issue on his part, a far more dangerous twist is looming in the education sector in Bayelsa state.

    “This is the seizure of the results of secondary school pupils by WAEC over the state government’s refusal to pay statutory dues.

    “This is a brazen act, the height of irresponsibility on the part of a government. To say the least, Governor Dickson is deliberately wasting away a generation of tomorrow’s leaders due to his inaction in this regard.

    “While we call on well meaning individuals to prevail on the governor, we sympathize with the parents of the pupils for this pain, an ordeal not worth it for whatever reason.

    “To the affected pupils, while we pray for a divine intervention in this regards, we share in your distress, despair, and disappointment”.

    ‎The party also noted that public primary and secondary schools in Bayelsa had yet to resume for the 2016/2017 session because of the failure of the state government to settle the seven-month salary arrears it owed teachers.

    But the PDP in a statement signed by its state Chairman, Mr. Moses Cleopas, said the allegation was a deliberate deceit to score cheap political points.

    Cleopas said the APC lacked moral justification to criticise the Dickson’s administration, because “what Bayelsa State is going through is as a result of the misrule by the APC-led government at the centre.”

    He said the misrule of APC “has completely ruined the nation’s economy, through its inability to initiate policies to reinvigorate the economy.”

    According to him, the situation in Bayelsa State was made worse by the financial recklessness and huge debt burden left behind by the immediate past administration in the state, which was under the leadership of Chief Timipre Sylva.

    He said that the PDP administration had spent N100bn to service the bond liability it inherited from that administration.

    Cleopas said that despite the huge debt burden it inherited from Sylva’s administration, the PDP government under Dickson had through careful application of the scarce resources at its disposal, kept the machinery of the government running.

    He said the people of the state including the parents of the affected candidates understood the level of wastage in the Chief Sylva years.

    He called on the APC leadership at the state and federal levels to apologise to Bayelsans and Nigerians for subjecting the people to untold hardship.

    According to him, the “Dickson-led administration will not allow itself to be distracted by charlatans, who have proved time and again, that they do not have anything positive to offer the people of the state”.

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

    Bayelsa first lady gives birth to quadruplet in U.S

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Appeal court upholds Dickson’s election

    Appeal court upholds Dickson’s election

    The appeal tribunal at the Court of Appeal, Abuja on Thursday dismissed the appeal by former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva against the validation of Seriake Dickson’s election by the trial tribunal.
    Sylva and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had appealed the decision of the governorship election tribunal, which sat in Abuja, and urged the appellate court to set aside the trial  judgment delivered on July 26, 2016.
    In a unanimous judgment, a five-man panel led by Justice Jimi Olukayode Bada, resolved the five issues raised for determination against Sylva. The appeal was marked: CA/A/EPT/482/2016.
    The court, in a lead judgment read by Justice Bada, held that Sylva failed to prove his allegation that the election held on December 6, 2015 and the supplementary one held on January 9, 2016 were marred by substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
    It also held that Sylva failed to prove the allegations of irregularities and corrupt practices raised in his petition.
    The court upheld the decision by election tribunal, which earlier affirmed Dickson’s victory.
    It noted that while Sylva’s case was  against the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the election held in Southern Ijaw Local Government on December 6, 2016, he failed to lead credible evidence to prove his case.
    Sylva had argued that INEC’s decision to cancel  the December 6, 2015 election in Southern Ijaw LG and reschedule it for January 9, 2016 was a breach of the provision of Section26(1( of the Electoral Act 2010.
    On whether election actually took place in Southern Ijaw LG on December 6, 2016, the appellate court held that the prosecution presented contradictory evidence in this regard.
    As against Sylva’s argument that INEC’s Resident Electoral Officers (REC) in the state lacked the power to have announced a cancellation of the election, the court held that Section 153(1)(f) of the 1st Schedule to the Constitution allows INEC to delegate its powers to any of its REC.
    It held that it was only INEC that could complain about how its REC exercised the so delegated powers.
    The court further held that by the evidence led by the appellant ( at the trial tribunal), it was clear that there was no conducive atmosphere under which a peaceful election could have been held in Southern Ijaw, and that the most reasonable thing in that circumstance was to postpone the election, which INEC did.
    It held that the burden was on Sylva to lead credible evidence to prove that election actually held in Southern Ijaw, which he failed to do.
    “Where a party seeks declaratory reliefs, it is the law that his case succeeds on the strength of his case and not the weakness of the defence.
    “A proper interpretation of Section 26(1) of the Electoral Act will accommodate what occurred in Southern Ijaw, where election was marred by violence.
    “There cannot be said to have been an election. The decision to conduct the election at a later date can be better interpreted as postponement, not cancellation.
    “The appellant, who asserted that there was election in Southern Ijaw LG on December 6, 2015 has the burden to prove the election and not the other way round,” the court said.
    The court faulted the decision by Sylva and his party to participate in the rescheduled election when they had protested INEC’s rescheduling of the election.
    It held that having participated in the rescheduled January 9, 2016 election, Sylva and his party have lost the right to challenge the propriety or otherwise of INEC’s decision to reschedule the election.
    On whether the tribunal was right to have held in favour of the respondents by virtue of the evidence led, the appellate court noted that although Sylva and his party were able to show some instances of irregularities, it was not sufficient to prove that such irregularities substantially tilted the result of the election in favour to the eventual winner.
    It also upheld the trial tribunal’s decision to delete names of some unnamed parties from the petition and to also delete some portions of the petition on the grounds that the appellants were unable to show how that decision worked injustice against them.
    “With the resolution of all the five issues against the appellants, I am of the view that this Appeal is devoid of merit. It is accordingly dismissed. Parties are to bear their costs,” Justice Bada said.
    The court also dismissed the two  cross appeals filed by Dickson and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which challenged the competence of Sylva’s candidacy for the election.
    Justice. Nonye Okoronkwo read the lead judgment in the appeal by Dickson marked: CA/A/EPT/482B/2016, while Justice Tunji  Awotoye read the lead judgment in the appeal by PDP marked: CA/A/EPT/482C/2016.
    The court, in holding that both appeals were unmeritorious, noted that issues about qualification were outside the jurisdiction of election tribunals.

  • Dickson gets ultimatum to pay teachers’ salaries

    Primary and secondary school teachers in Bayelsa State on Thursday gave Governor Seriake Dickson a seven-day ultimatum to pay their over six-month salary arrears.

    The teachers under the aegis of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said non-payment of salaries had thrown them into unbearable hardship.

    They had earlier issued a 21-day ultimatum to the local and state government on non-payment of salaries and other issues.

    But following the expiration of the ultimatum and government’s inactions, the teachers renewed it by seven days.

    The teachers in a communique’ jointly signed by the state Chairman of NUT, Mr. Kalama Toinipre and Secretary, Mr. Johnson Hector, asked the government to reinstate dismissed teachers who were employed in 2008 and 2009.

    They also asked the government to address issues of transfer of management and duty-post allowances to principals and head teachers.

    They further appealed to the government to look into non-payment and non-implementation of teachers’ promotion and N18, 000 minimum wage arrears.

  • Sylvas, APC urge Appeal Court to void Dickson’s election

    Former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have appealed the July 26 judgment of the election petitions tribunal which upheld the victory of Seriake Dickson in the state governorship election.

    In the appeal filed before the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on August 14, Sylva faulted the tribunal judgment and raised 24 grounds of appeal in that regard.

    They argued that the tribunal misled itself, misapplied the law and came to wrong conclusion in its verdict.

    Sylva and APC asked the court to set aside the judgment and grant his reliefs as contained in the petition or the alternative reliefs, including cancellation of the election and ordering a fresh one.

    The ex-governor and his party argued that the tribunal erred in law when it held that the reasons given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the election was within the provision Section 26(1) of the Electoral Act (EA) 2010.

     

     

  • Don’t use Bayelsa as launching pad for militancy – Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, on Wednesday warned miscreants against using the state as a launching pad for militancy and other criminal activities.

    Dickson, who condemned Monday’s brutal killing of three soldiers in Nembe local government area of the state, asked militants to leave Bayelsa alone.

    He said his administration would work with security operatives to smoke out the killers of the three soldiers from their hideout and bring them to justice.

    A statement signed by Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson-Markson, said the governor spoke in a live radio interview in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    He said: “The government will not condone a situation whereby the state would be used as a launching pad for violence and criminal activities.”

    He said the government would convene a meeting of the traditional rulers, local government council chairman and other major stakeholders in Nembe to deliberate on security issues in the area.

    He further asked traditional rulers to identify more with their people and liaise with security agencies to curb security challenges in their domains.

    The governor pointed out that government was collaborating with security operatives to unravel persons responsible for the attack on military personnel.

    He said: “I would like to use this opportunity to offer my condolences to the military commanders, colleagues and families of the soldiers who were murdered in cold blood in Nembe.

    “I would be summoning the traditional rulers in the area and the chairman of the council and after that I hope to have a critical meeting with other players in that area to discuss the security developments.

    “We condemn it in its totality and especially looking at it from the point of view that last year in the same location this kind of thing took place. We are very concerned about that.  Our duty is to work with the security forces to ensure that the perpetrators are followed up and hunted down.

    “They must face justice, and maybe from this incident we might also get a clue as to what happened last year and some other incidents of security breaches.”

  • NUC approves new Bayelsa’s varsity in Dickson’s village

    NUC approves new Bayelsa’s varsity in Dickson’s village

    The National University Commission (NUC) has approved the University of Africa (UA), Toru-Orua, the community of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, as the 43rd state university in the country.

    Its approval was reportedly followed the formal presentation of the relevant gazette law, academic brief, physical master plan and the report of the advisory assessment visit by the commission.

    The UA, Toru-Orua, is said to be an initiative of the Bayelsa State Government expected to run as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project.

    The state government is required to only provide the enabling environment, while the financing would reportedly come from the private sector.

    The NUC was said to have given its nod for the university in a letter dated July 28, 2016.

    According to a statement signed by Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, congratulated the state government.

    He noted that, the establishment of the university took effect from the 28th of July, having complied with the basic requirements adding that the AU is also the 143rd in the Nigerian university system.

    In the statement, Iworiso-Markson, said Dickson led a delegation of top government officials to the office of the commission in Abuja and were received by executive secretary, who briefed the governor on the latest development and the approval of the university.

    The statement disclosed that, Okojie handed over the letter of approval to Dickson during the visit, and commended him for the initiative.

    In his remarks, Dickson thanked Okojie for the warm reception accorded him and his team, explaining that, the AU, Toru-Orua was conceived as a public private partnership.

    He said it was designed as a first rate institution of learning that would also attract some of the best teachers from Africa and the world.

    He said the university would be funded by its partners and the government would only provide the enabling environment for its establishment.

    Dickson said, there was need for more fee-paying private universities to be established adding that it was the only way to make funding of tertiary institutions viable and sustainable.

    He said: “I am here leading this small delegation to present to you these laws passed by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, establishing a new university that we want to bring about working with the private sector. It will be run on a PPP basis.

    “It is a University unlike the existing one, it will not be directly funded by the state. Our belief is that moving forward for a university to be sustainable, we must create room for private sector participation and involvement.

    “The University of Africa, Toru-Orua, is the first of its kind in this country, that is established by government with private sector involvement and it will be strictly a fee paying tertiary institution that will attract students from across the continent and the globe. It will be the model as we encourage more private universities in this country.”

  • NUC approves new varsity for Bayelsa

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the establishment of the University of Africa for Bayelsa, the 43rd state university in the country.

    The Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, disclosed this in a statement issued in Yenagoa on Saturday.

    The statement said the NUC handed over the letter of approval to Governor Seriake Dickson when he visited the commission in Abuja.

    The governor expressed gratitude to the NUC Executive Secretary for the warm reception accorded him and his team.

    “The approval of the university followed the formal presentation of relevant gazette law, academic brief, physical master-plan as well as the satisfactory report of the advisory resource assessment visit by the commission,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Bayelsa State government as saying in the statement.

    Dickson said the University of Africa, Toru-Orua, was conceived as a public private partnership venture and designed as a first rate institution of learning to attract some of the best teachers from Africa and the world.

    He said the university would be funded by private partners, while the government would only provide the enabling environment for its establishment.

     

  • Military action won’t quell Niger Delta militancy – Dickson

    Military action won’t quell Niger Delta militancy – Dickson

    The Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, on Wednesday maintained that deployment of military to Niger Delta would not quell militancy in the region.

    The military had threatened to use force if dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other militant groups in the region fail to yield the desired results.

    But speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Dickson said the only way out of the crisis is dialogue and negotiations.

    The governor said the terrain and history of the Niger Delta region ‎had shown the futility of any military invasion.

    He said: “I have said that on the issues in the Niger Delta, the terrain, the historic nature of the issues and challenges are such that military solution may not be the way forward. ‎

    “For us who are products of political system and who are at this level, we have a duty to mobilise communal and local leadership. We also have a duty to support the work the intelligence and security agencies are doing and we have a duty to ensure that issues are better appreciated and we fill the communication gap.

    “And where there are issues those issues need be addressed. It is also our duty to network like I’m doing to ensure that problems that are identified as the main cause of some of these challenges are looked into.

    “The military solutions as I have always maintained is not the right option. We are hopeful that the ongoing discussions will yield the desired result. I have always been in support of negotiations and dialogue as the sustainable way forward.

    “Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around these common issues to move our country forward.”

     

  • Tribunal upholds Dickson’s election

    Tribunal upholds Dickson’s election

    The Bayelsa State Governorship Electoral Petitions Tribunal on Tuesday upheld the victory of Seriake Disckson in the state governorship election.

    Dickson represented the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last year’s governorship election in Bayelsa.

    The tribunal dismissed a petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate,  Timipre Sylva, saying it lacked merit.

    A three-man panel of the tribunal led by Justice Kazeem Alogba, in dismissing the petition, held that Sylva and his party failed to prove their case with credible evidence.

    The tribunal held that the petitioners failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations of electoral offences, which they said affected the election outcome.

    It said the petition was not supported by sufficient proof and required standard.

    The panel said: “The petitioners failed to prove that the second respondent (Dickson) did not score the highest lawful votes.

    “Therefore the return of the second respondent by the Independent National Electoral Commission on January 10, 2016 was valid.”