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  • Dickson’s commission of inquiry unfortunate, diversionary – Sylva

    Dickson’s commission of inquiry unfortunate, diversionary – Sylva

    Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, on Monday described a judicial commission of inquiry set up by the state Governor, Mr.  Seriake Dickson, as unfortunate, unacceptable and diversionary.

    Dickson inaugurated a six-member Commission and asked it to investigate the violence, mayhem and grave breach of the peace that occurred in parts of the state on or about the 3rd to 6th of December, 2015.

    But Sylva in a statement issued in Yenagoa by his Media Adviser, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, said,  “It is only an inept, directionless, and nervous governor, like Dickson, that would set up a commission of inquiry into violence that marred an election that is still ongoing, and one in which he is involved in as a key actor.

    “What manner of justice does anyone in his right senses expect from such a commission of inquiry? The inquiry is bizarre and already biased from the onset.

    According to the statement, Justice Margaret Akpomiemie, who was made the chairman of the commission, is still nursing a grudge against Sylva for his refusal to make her Chief Judge of Bayelsa State during his tenure as governor.

    Sylva added:”Justice Akpomiemie’s decision to accept this hatchet job offered by outgoing governor Dickson is clearly a revenge mission against Sylva. She is on a clear mission of vendetta.

    “Besides, the inquiry is diversionary because Dickson and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, are principal actors in the violence orchestrated against APC leaders and supporters in an attempt to intimidate the people in areas where APC was obviously poised to win, and hand him an illusory victory.

    “All Bayelsans and, indeed, Nigerians are living witnesses to the unbridled desperation displayed by Dickson and PDP during the December 5 governorship election, which he knows he cannot win. Such desperation had driven the governor and his party to the extent of importing militants from neighbouring states to attack Sylva’s campaign Director-General and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; Sylva, and other APC leaders and supporters across the state.”

  • Dickson was made commissioner for betraying Alamieyeseigha -Sylva

    Dickson was made commissioner for betraying Alamieyeseigha -Sylva

    A former Governor of Bayelsa State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the December 5 governorship election, Chief Timipre Sylva, speaks on wide range of issues including misrepresentations of his personality in this interview with MIKE ODIEGWU.

    The Governor recently described you as a ‘guy man’. He has also said you plunged the state into huge debts. How much debt did you really leave? 

    Well, I wonder what (Seriake) Dickson mean by a ‘guy man’ but I think I am a typical Bayelsan. Dickson is just a disgrace to himself. Everybody knows that Governor Dickson is a bushman. I am not exaggerating because that’s who he is. He lacks self confidence, which is why he calls me ‘guy man’.

    You also raised the issue of debt burden. The figures are there.  I inherited debts from (former President Goodluck) Jonathan, who was governor. Now, what we did was servicing those debts. What I did was to take a bond to absorb the debts that I inherited. I took a N50 billion bond because we felt that if we serviced the loans alone in commercial banks it was costing us a lot. So, we took some of that loan and absorbed it in that bond and then we took some of that money from that bond to pay our contractors on the Brass Road and then we paid some money to the contractor on the Melfred Okilo Hospital. The bond was structured in such a way that it is a long term bond, so the tenure was longer so it could be easier for the state government to pay the interest rate and cope with it. So we were able to put all the loans that we inherited into that bond.

    Now, when I left and I hope that the Dickson administration will be sincere, I will never lie to Bayelsans, I have a commercial loan stock of N20billion which I was hoping I will be able to finish paying by May that year and I would have finished paying it if I was there by then. Now, the government of Jonathan owed contractors N111billion and by the time I was leaving the contractor debt rose to N207billion. Let us face it, contracts may have been given by the Jonathan administration and the term of the contract may have been given by the previous government. It is a continuous thing. You keep saying I owed so much; most of that money they were talking about was contractor’s debts. If they are truthful they will tell you. I am sure that if I take over today the contractor debts would have gone up to above N400billion. I would not go out and announce that Dickson owes so much that is for somebody that does not understand economics.

    The loan stock of N20billion that l owed, Dickson could have paid it off in the first three months because when he came in was when fuel subsidy was particularly removed. The first year I got into government I received N89billion from the federation account, the first year Dickson came, he received N191billion. Second year, I received N154billion, Dickson received N216billion. The third year I received N106billion, Dickson received N156billion. So what is he talking about?

    The PDP has continued to accuse you of using the security outfit codenamed Famou-Tangbe to maim and kill innocent citizens during your first tenure. Can you respond to this?

    Look, Famou-Tangbe was formed as a security outfit. He (Dickson) realised that there was the need for a specialized outfit. He himself has formed one and I can tell you and give you names. At least I know one name of somebody that has been killed by his outfit. I have pictures that I can show you; people that were killed, they do a lot of extra-judicial killings. The decision to form the security outfit Famou-Tangbe was taken in a security council meeting because we need to set up a specialized outfit to combat the rising wave of crime, especially coming at the time after militancy and a lot of these young men were out from the creeks and there was a rise in criminality in the city.

    So we decided to set up a security outfit in collaboration with the police. The name was not from me. The name was suggested by my then security adviser, Richard Kpodo. Famou-Tangbe is not my dialect. He thought that name was a better name even though I suggested ‘Instant Reaction Squad’. In the Security Council I was out-voted. They thought we need to have a name in the language spoken around and I also okayed it.

    That outfit was overseen by Pere Rich as my security Adviser but under the police. If any crime was committed by Famutangbe, Pere Rich is working with Governor Dickson and so I challenged him to arrest Pere Rich. As far as governor Dickson is concerned, it is just the name that is the problem. The name was not my suggestion and I am happy that he is now working with governor Dickson and I wish them well.

    Some people are asking what you forgot in Government House

    Anybody that ask that question is ignorant. I left Bayelsa State Government House unwillingly and all Bayelsans know the circumstances under which I left and since then no other opportunity has presented itself for me to re-contest for that office. This is the first opportunity that has presented itself since 2012 and so I don’t know why anybody will ask me if I forgot anything.

    I was disqualified by the power that be from contesting an office I was still occupying at the time. I think that was the most preposterous thing, the most unjust thing that has happen to Bayelsa State. Most well-meaning Bayelsans think this is the time for God’s justice to be done by bringing me back and that’s why you see this overwhelming support. I didn’t forget anything in Government House, the Government House is currently occupied by an usurper who came and use federal might.

    Today, when they now begin to shout about federal might, I wonder. Look at Bayelsa now, look at Yenagoa, do you see any army check point? Now, take your mind back to 2012, at this time, towards the election in 2012, we had over a hundred check points, manned by fierce-looking armed soldiers.

    Now, nothing of such is happening and yet they still want to scream because they are scared of their own shadows. I didn’t forget but I think it’s time for me to reclaim what is justly mine. Today, those people who barred me from contesting that election are no longer in office by the grace of God, so the Bayelsa people have the opportunity of choosing their rightful leader and that is why I am presenting myself.

    Your party, the APC dislodged your brother, Goodluck Jonathan from the Presidency. Don’t you think this alone might affect your chances at the poll?

    I don’t think this will have any impact on the election at all. Every Ijaw man should be fair to me and the APC. The former President set the scene for his exit from office by bringing the war to his home. He started the fire and he didn’t start the fire in any other place, he started it from his own home. Look, after I was removed from office, I went to exile I was arrested by all kinds of people, many times. They never even left me alone after removing me from office; they wanted to kill me; they wanted to jail me; they wanted to do everything to me. I was visited by a lots of elders from different parts of the country; elders from the west visited me; elders from the east visited me; elders from the north visited me and the one question on the lips of all those elders who visited me, ‘do you not have elders in Bayelsa State who can intervene between yourself and the President?’ And I have no answer to give them.

    He lost the election, the people of Bayelsa must move on in this country. Nigeria is not meant for us to lead forever, it was an opportunity, we led the country and now, it is  no longer our time so anybody who is still reveling  in that period is still leaving in the history. Please wake up, today is a new day and today there is an APC government at the centre led by President Muhammadu Buhari, the earlier we wake up to that fact, the better for us.

    The incumbent governor has always said that the election is not going to be about him or you but about the people of Ijaw and that PDP is an Ijaw party.

    In a way I will agree with the governor that the election is not about me or about him but it is about Bayelsans and about the Ijaw people. I agree with him about that but when you take it further then you can see the state of mind of the man we are talking about. He has a confused state of mind obviously. I had said in other fora that none of the parties, neither APC nor PDP is an Ijaw party, they are national parties. I was one of those who brought PDP into Bayelsa, he was not even a member of the PDP. He was a member of AD at that time and then later I think he became a member of the ANPP at a time, he was never even a member of the PDP. When I was in PDP, he was not even in PDP, he was just an interloper that joined to get the benefit. Has he worked for that party? Because as far as I know after contributing to the impeachment of Alamieseigha, he came here and as compensation, he was made a commissioner.

    That was how he came to the PDP; he was made a commissioner as a compensation for the role he played in the impeachment of Alamieseigha. Then he became a member of the House of Representatives because of his perceived loyalty to the former President and then a governor because they were the people who told all kind of lies to the former President and set him up against me. So, he became a beneficiary of lies.

    So, I can’t blame him because he doesn’t even really know what the PDP stands for. The APC is also a national party. There is nothing they can do for the Ijaw nation; the person who loves Ijaw people must take Bayelsa to the centre and this is what is going to improve the lots of Bayelsans.

    So, if we are talking of Ijaw patriot, I consider myself one as I think today that well meaning Ijaw people are quite happy with me because they believe that without me, there would have been no link with the centre, there would have been no bridge builder. Now, I have provided that link to the centre. I think that on the contrary, the APC is the patriotic party and I am the patriotic one. And I think that the Ijaw people should embrace the APC because this is our time to really get to the centre. We have to live in this same country whether our president lost the election or not. It is not the Ijaw people that lost the election because Ijaw people did not contest an election, I didn’t see Ijaw people on the ballot.

    Dickson and the PDP have always described you as being violent. How do you react to this?

    You see they always say that the cat wanted the apple and he jumped to catch the apple and couldn’t get the apple, then he consoled himself by saying ‘rotten apple’ and then he walks away. That is his only compensation because he just couldn’t get it.

    Now, let me tell you that even the outgoing governor did everything to join the APC. But you know the APC is not for people like him. The APC is not for bullies, Pharaohs and Emperors and so unfortunately we didn’t accept him and now he is saying rotten apple because he couldn’t get in. Maybe if he had gotten in, he would be saying by now that the APC is the greatest party. The APC cannot be a violent party, look at the streets today, just a few days, he himself instructed people to go out there and tear down my posters. Everywhere you go my posters are on the ground as if tearing posters means winning election.

    All the cases of violence have been perpetrated by the PDP. APC members have been violated in most wards, injured sometimes and we have to go out in our campaigns with extra security because of security threats.

    I fought militancy. On the contrary the outgoing governor is the violent one who perpetrates violence, supports it and, sponsors it.

    Every lawful tactics to remove him out of office will be used by the APC and of course Bayelsans cannot possibly take another four years of Dickson’s ineptitude. So he continues to blame the APC for everything.

    But the PDP said when you were a governor you underperformed and left a lot of abandoned projects including the airport project?

    That to me is the continuation of his frustration and paranoid. I came into government, there were a lot of projects, ongoing projects, and I did not call them abandoned projects. Every government starts a project and if they don’t finish such project, the incoming government finishes the project. Banquet hall was such a project, it was started by Alameisiegha. I furnished it.

    The treasury building was one of such projects, I finished it. The Judiciary building, the library I finished them. I can’t finish counting them; I could have said they were abandoned projects because a lot of those projects were not even touched by the Jonathan administration. They were started by Alameisiegha but were abandoned by the Jonathan administration but I came and I took off from the very beginning and completed all those projects. The way I left office nobody would have taught I would have completed all those projects because I left in the middle of my tenure. My tenure was truncated, I wasn’t given time to finish the projects. When Dickson leaves now, he will leave a lot of projects also uncompleted does it mean I will consider them abandoned projects because he did not complete them? He has abandoned his own projects now, which are the real meaning of abandoned projects. All the hospitals he has been building in Oporoma, in all places have been abandoned. He has abandoned the Isaac Boro road; he is the one that is abandoning his own projects.

     

     

  • Sylva dismisses Dickson’s commission of inquiry

    Sylva dismisses Dickson’s commission of inquiry

    Governorship candidate of the APC, Chief Timipre Sylva, described the decision of the governor to set up the  judicial commission of inquiry on Friday as unfortunate, unacceptable and diversionary.

    Dickson mandated the commission to investigate the violence, mayhem and grave breach of the peace that occurred in parts of the state on or about December the 3rd to 6th.

    But Sylva in a statement in Yenagoa by his Media Adviser, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, said,  “It is only an inept, directionless, and nervous governor, like Dickson, that would set up a commission of inquiry into violence that marred an election that is still on-going, and one in which he is involved in as a key actor.

    “What manner of justice does anyone in his right senses expect from such a commission of inquiry? The inquiry is bizarre and already biased from the onset.”

    He said that  Justice Margaret Akpomiemie, chairman of the commission, is still nursing a grudge against him (Sylva) for not making  her Chief Judge of Bayelsa State during his tenure as governor.

    Sylva said: “Justice Akpomiemie’s decision to accept this hatchet job offered by outgoing governor Dickson is clearly a revenge mission against Sylva. She is on a clear mission of vendetta.

    “Besides, the inquiry is diversionary because Dickson and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, are principal actors in the violence orchestrated against APC leaders and supporters in an attempt to intimidate the people in areas where APC was obviously poised to win, and hand him an illusory victory.

    “All Bayelsans and, indeed, Nigerians are living witnesses to the unbridled desperation displayed by Dickson and PDP during the December 5 governorship election, which he knows he cannot win. Such desperation had driven the governor and his party to the extent of importing militants from neighbouring states to attack Sylva’s campaign Director-General and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; Sylva, and other APC leaders and supporters across the state.”

     

  • It’s rape of democracy, says Sylva as INEC stops poll

    It’s rape of democracy, says Sylva as INEC stops poll

    Decision in order, say Dickson, PDP

    bayelsa poll Results

    Local Govt          APC      PDP

    • Brass 21, 755   6,516
    • Sagbama 5,382       28,934
    • Yenagoa 14,563 24,258
    • Kolokuma/ Opokuma     6,896      7,619
    • Ekeremor 7,918    14,604
    • Ogbia 9,106    13,051
    • Nembe 6,974    10,768 

    •Election cancelled in Southern Ijaw Local Govt

     

    Another electoral logjam surfaced yesterday —courtesy of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which failed to conclude a governorship election.

    Just as it did in Kogi State last month, the agency threw a spanner in the works,  declaring Saturday’s election in Bayelsa State inconclusive.

    These are the two governorship elections so far held under the chairmanship of Prof. Mahmud Yakubu as INEC chairman.

    INEC cancelled the rescheduled poll in Southern Ijaw Local Government Council, one of the eight local governments in the state.

    Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Baritor Kpagir said the cancellation was endorsed by the national headquarters.

    Kpagir said the election was cancelled, following reports that the poll in Southern Ijaw was substantially marred by violence, ballot box snatching, intimidation and other irregularities.

    The REC, at the state collation centre located inside the multipurpose hall of the secretariat of Yenagoa Local Government, noted that in the interest of international compliance with best practice, the cancellation of the election became necessary.

    Kpagir indicated that a new date for the election would be chosen and communicated to all the stakeholders.

    The Chief Retuning Officer, Prof. Zena Akpogu, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar in Cross River State, maintained that he could not declare any of the candidates the winner of the poll, without the results from Southern Ijaw Local Government.

    The mainly-riverine Southern Ijaw is the biggest council in the state. It has over 120,000 voting strength, which would decide the eventual winner of the election between Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) Seriake Dickson and the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) Chief Timipre Sylva.

    The governorship election took place on Saturday in Yenagoa, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Sagbama, Brass, Ekeremor, Ogbia and Nembe Councils. The poll in Southern Ijaw council was rescheduled for Sunday also as a result of violence and killings.

    In the collated results from the seven local governments as announced by the Returning Officer, the PDP leads with 33,154 votes. The PDP polled 105,748 votes as against APC’s 72,594 votes.

    Prior to the cancellation of the election in Southern Ijaw, some PDP women and youths, who wore black dresses and led by the party’s Bayelsa Women Leader Faith Opuene, protested near the collation centre, expressing displeasure over the poll in Southern Ijaw.

    Barely 30 minutes after the protest, despite the police ban on demonstrations, some militants from Southern Ijaw escorted two Hilux vans, one of them with Bayelsa Government House registration number: BYGH145, into the collation centre.

    The two vehicles were loaded with uncounted ballot materials, without any security escort or INEC official.

    The militants, who were singing war songs, as they alighted from the Hilux vans, claimed that they escaped from Southern Ijaw with the results of three units of Amassoma in the council area, in view of the violence, but the electoral materials were not accepted by the INEC officials at the collation centre.

    The Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of Training and Development, Hashimu Argungu, told the militants to give peace a chance, assuring them that INEC would address their complaints.

    The results are: Brass Local Government PDP 21,755 votes, APC 6,516 votes.

    Sagbama PDP: 24, 258, APC 5, 382.  Yenagoa, PDP 24,258, APC 14, 563

    Kolokuma/Opokuma PDP 7,619 votes, APC 6,896.

    Ekeremor PDP 14,602, APC 7,918 votes.

    For the results announced yesterday: Ogbia PDP 13,051, APC 9,106 and Nembe PDP 10,768 APC 6,974 votes.

    From the seven local government areas, PDP polled 105,748 votes. APC had 72,594 votes, with a difference of 33,154 votes.

    The police warned against plans by some people to protest in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    A statement by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Hashimu Argungu, banned all forms of procession, rally or demonstration.

    The statement was circulated at INEC’s collation centre in Yenagoa, where the results of the governorship election in the state were being announced.

    It was gathered that the PDP had already mobilised people to protest against the rescheduled election that was held in Southern Ijaw.

    Argungu said the police were informed about plans by some “disgruntled elements” to carry out illegal rallies and demonstrations in the state.

    The DIG said: “This form of conduct will jeopardise the ongoing electoral process. Therefore, the command warns all intending perpetrators to desist from such acts, as it will deal decisively with any person or group of persons who wish to engage in any conduct that will compromise the existing peaceful atmosphere.

    “Members of the public are advised to go about their normal businesses, as security agencies are poised to guarantee the safety of lives and property.”

    Earlier, Dickson was live on the state-owned Radio Bayelsa, protesting the electoral process, at the time he was leading with over 28,000 votes.

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

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

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

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

     

  • Sylva rejects cancellation 

    Sylva rejects cancellation 

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva,  yesterday rejected the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    Sylva told reporters that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Baritor Kpagir, had no powers to cancel an election that had been concluded and which result was being awaited.

    He said the APC would head for the court to challenge the decision, which he described as a rape of democracy, with the hope that the votes would be counted and awarded to the parties.

    He wondered why the REC chose to isolate Southern Ijaw for cancellation, leaving other local governments, such as Nembe, Ekeremor, Sagbama, parts of Yenagoa and Ogbia where the APC had raised the alarm that the election was marred by violence

    For instance, he said militants took over Ekeremor on the eve of the election, shooting repeatedly at the home of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, but the election still went on and the results collated and announced because it favoured the PDP.

    He said the election in Ekeremor was not cancelled because the PDP won, adding that if the APC had won, it would have been nullified.

    “In Sagbama, there were no electoral materials. PDP thugs snatched the materials, wrote the results and it was accepted because it favoured the PDP.

    “The same thing applied im some parts of Nembe, Yenagoa and Ogbia. We raised the alarm, reported the matter but our complaints were set aside because the PDP won. This whole election was set up for the PDP to win. I wonder why the APC was allowed to contest”, Sylva said.

    He accused the REC of working for the PDP and alleged that some financial inducement led to the decision of the REC and his team to cancel it.

    He said: “The election of Southern Ijaw was held on the 6th. The results were coming on the 7th after the election had been concluded. The REC did not cancel it when it was being conducted.

    He added: “APC will not take this cancellation. The REC has no power to cancel an election that has taken place. It is only a returning officer that has power to cancel an election.”

     

  • Dickson, Sylva in tight race as results trickle in

    Dickson, Sylva in tight race as results trickle in

    •PDP chairman loses in own ward
    • Dickson defeated in front of Govt House

    Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Chief Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appear to be running neck and neck in yesterday’s governorship election in Bayelsa State as results of the poll began trickling in last night.

    Collation of the results went far into the night and a clearer picture is expected to emerge today.

    Early results showed that the PDP performed badly in some of the areas it considered its strongholds including the neighbourhood of Government House, Yenagoa.

    At the Peace Park polling unit 10 close to the seat of power Sylva polled 58 votes to Dickson’s 27.

    The   PDP also lost to the APC in the wards of several of its notable leaders including the Chairman of the party in the state Chief Serena Dokubo (Brass LG),and the Deputy Majority leader in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Tonye Isenah (Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA).

    Results from Ekeremor, Brass, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Nembe and Yenagoa Local Government Areas showed that Sylva had pulled ahead of Dickson, although the governor was on top in Sagbama Local Government area.

    Results from Ogbia LGA showed a close race.

    There was no election in Wards 4 and 5 in Ogbia council area following of security threat by supporters of the two major contending parties.

    Some of the unofficial results obtained last night:

     

    YENAGOA

    Ward 5, unit 20: APC 63, PDP 100

    Ward 2 unit 1: APC 19, PDP 14

    Ward 2 unit 2: APC 27, PDP 23

    Ward 4 unit 8: APC 250,

    PDP 144

    Ward 7 unit 12: APC 81,

    PDP 41

    Ward 4 unit 10: APC 250,

    PDP 154

    Ward 5 unit 2: APC 135

    PDP 136

    Ward 4 unit 11: APC 115,

    PDP 98

    Ward 4 unit 12 APC 343,

    PDP 78

    Ward 5 unit 3: APC 81,

    PDP 136

    Ward 1 Unit, APC 109, PDP 45

     

    KOLOKUMA/OPOKUMA

    Ward 3 unit 3 APC 50 PDP 34

    Ward 10 unit 10 APC 102 PDP 58

    Ward 10 unit 8 APC 85 PDP 65

    Ward 10 unit 6 APC 58 PDP 41

    Ward 3 unit 2 APC 13 PDP 12

     

    BRASS

    Ward 2 unit 6 APC 118 PDP 8

    Ward 1 unit 3 APC 160 PDP 15

    Ward 2 unit 15 APC 220

    PDP 15

    Ward 1 unit 15 APC 375 PDP 18

    Ward 1 unit 10 APC 138 PDP 20

    Ward I unit 12 APC 123 PDP 8

    Ward 4 Unit 3 APC 285 PDP 2

    Ward 3 unit 2 APC 298 PDP 12

    Ward 3 unit 3 APC 210 PDP 3

    Ward 2 unit 8 254 PDP 4

     

    NEMBE

    Ward 3 unit 8 APC 49 PDP 102

    Ward 5 unit 2 APC 13 PDP 2

    Ward 2 unit 9 APC 24 PDP 22

    Ward 3 unit 6 APC 21 PDP 65

    Ward 5 unit 1 APC 89 PDP 6

    Ward 5 unit 7 APC 80 PDP 26

    Ward 5 unit 8 APC 49 PDP 13

    Ward 5 unit 9 APC 57 PDP 12

    Ward 8 unit 25 APC 17 PDP 16

    WARD 8 UNIT 20 APC 19

    PDP 39

     

    EKEREMOR

    Ward 8 unit 31 APC 140

    PDP 41

    Ward 8 unit 32 APC 84 PDP 37

    Ward 12 unit 10 APC 70

    PDP 109

     

    OGBIA

    Ward 11 unit 6 APC 25 PDP 60

    Ward 11 unit 1 APC 23 PDP 89

    Ward 11 unit 11 APC 10 PDP 5

    Ward 8 unit 8 APC 101 PDP 99

    Ward 8 unit 9 APC 50 PDP 55

    Ward 10 unit 1 APC 28 PDP 20

    Ward 10 unit 2 APC 57 PDP 33

    Ward 10 unit 3 APC 29 PDP 15

    Ward 10 unit 4 APC 43 PDP 32

    Ward 10 unit 5 APC 38 PDP 22

    Ward 10 unit 6 APC 40 PDP 19

    Ward 10 unit 7 APC 5 PDP 50

    Ward 10 unit 8 APC 40 PDP 29

    Ward 10 unit 9 APC 28 PDP 16

    Ward 10 unit 10 APC 30 PDP 10

    Ward 6 unit 3 APC 82 PDP 59

    Ward 8 unit 18 APC 102

    PDP 47

    Ward 8 unit 11 APC 70 PDP 45

    Ward 8 unit 7 APC 98 PDP 71

    Ward 8 unit 16 APC 33 PDP 30

  • Buhari, Tinubu, Oyegun, Oshiomhole, Tambuwal, others campaign for Sylva

    Buhari, Tinubu, Oyegun, Oshiomhole, Tambuwal, others campaign for Sylva

    •President: it’s time to move to APC
    •Commissioners, govt officials dump PDP

    There was massive support yesterday for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, to wrest power from Governor Seriake Dickson.

    Party faithful, residents and APC leaders thronged the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa to back Sylva’s ambition.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo; APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ex-Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, added colour to the final rally of the APC.

    The National Working Committee of the party temporarily relocated to Bayelsa State, as the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, led other members of the committee to the rally described by people as APC’s icing on the cake.

    Governors elected on the platform of the party like Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo) represented by his deputy, Eze Madumere, attended the campaign.

    The event was further spiced with the presence of APC governorship candidates in the Southsouth states, who are seeking justice in courts- Dakuku Peterside (Rivers), Otega Emerhor (Delta) and Umana Umana (Akwa Ibom).

    Senator Magnus Abe was also there.

    The Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal and ministers graced the occasion.

    The ranks of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were further depleted and the chances of Dickson narrowed, following the defections of commissioners and government officials to the APC.

    Artistes like Face, Maleke, J. Martins and Desmond Eliot, now a lawmaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly, entertained the crowd.

    A group of beautiful maidens called Sylva Angels thrilled the audience with their victory dance.

    APC supporters defied the scorching sun to attend the event.

    President Buhari said it was time for Bayelsa to change from PDP to APC, to realign with the centre.

    He said: “The time for change has come. The time of prosperity, the time of good governance has come. Don’t miss the train. We are expecting Bayelsans to participate in what we are doing at the federal level. Bayelsa deserves its pride of place among the states.

    “This state and its people are great. But you must do the right thing. The right thing is to defect from the PDP to the APC. It is time to move. On Saturday, vote for change by voting for APC. Go to the polling centres with your permanent voter cards (PVCs) and effect that change you desire.

    “If you do so, you will have the right to demand. You will have the right to ask our candidate, who will be the next governor, what he has promised you. I assure you that you will see a real difference.

    “There will be jobs, progress in this state. Everyone of us looking for promotion will have it by the grace of God. You will achieve great things.”

    Asiwaju Tinubu, whose presence excited the crowd, urged the people to send PDP and its 16 years of ineptitude out of office.

    He said after 16 years of government, the party could only boast of hunger, unemployment, darkness and lack of basic amenities.

    The ex-Lagos State governor said APC was the cure for unemployment and other problems caused by the PDP misrule.

    He said the people, who were led into the wilderness, now have the opportunity to enjoy prosperity “by voting out Poverty Development Party.”

    Tinubu, who spent time to demonstrate to the people where and how they should vote on Saturday, enjoined them to eschew violence at the polls.

    He told them to vote for the broom, the APC symbol and defend their votes by waiting and ensuring that they are counted.

    The APC national leader said Saturday’s election represents freedom for the people, stressing that the road to freedom is not easy.

    His words: “For 16 years you have been led in the wilderness by the Poverty Development Party. Send PDP away with its poverty. No potable water, jobs and electricity.

    “Vote and defend your votes. They are already afraid. You are the master. Sylva is back. He has bounced back. Only you can make him win.”

    Lawal advised the people to join the government at the centre.

    According to him, identifying with the centre would enable the state have its fair share of dividends of democracy.

    Odigie-Oyegun thanked the people for welcoming him with surprises each time he visited the state.

    He urged them to give him the most important gift by returning Sylva to the Government House.

    The APC national chairman said the party and the Federal Government relocated to the state to demonstrate the value attached to Bayelsa State.

    Odigie-Oyegun, who called for a minute’s silence each for the late Abubakar Audu and the late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, said Sylva would offer security, employment and other dividends of democracy if elected.

    He said: “Saturday is the red-letter day. It will be the biggest present to our dear President when you return Sylva to the Government House. Victory is assured.”

    Sylva said he would rescue Bayelsa from darkness, dirt, unemployment and underdevelopment.

    Said he: “Our people will experience prosperity. Bayelsa State will be developed. Salaries, pensions and gratuities will be paid. We will focus on diversifying the economy, creating jobs, wealth and providing security. We will strengthen the civil service.

    “We will pay civil servants salaries and give students scholarships. It is wicked to send our children abroad on scholarships and ask them to fend for themselves. Vote for APC and make sure your votes are counted.

    “We must not allow violence. On Saturday, Pharaoh will fall and the Egyptians will be under the Red Sea. This is the meaning of Opuabadi. My government will be about you and not about my family.”

  • Court adjourns Sylva’s eligibility suit to January 12

    Court adjourns Sylva’s eligibility suit to January 12

    An FCT High Court, Maitama has fixed January 12, 2016 for hearing in a suit challenging the eligibility of Timipreye Sylva to contest the forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa.

    Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa, is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bayelsa governor, Seriake Dickson and his party; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) filed the suit seeking to disqualify Sylva from participating in the election.

    The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that Sylva was not qualified to contest the election because he had been elected twice and had taken oath of office twice as governor of the state.

    At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, counsel to the plaintiffs, Friday Nwosu said that Sylva had previously been elected twice as governor of Bayelsa in 2007 and 2008.

    “The 2007 election was nullified by the Court Of Appeal and Sylva contested and won the re-run election, whereupon he was elected the second time and served for about a cumulative period of four years and seven months as the governor of the state.

    “He now seeks to be elected a third time as governor of Bayelsa state in the said forthcoming elections.

    “This is against the relevant constitutional provision in section 182 (1)(b) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

    “The section states that, `no person shall be qualified for election to the office of governor of a state if-

    “ (b) he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections”

    Counsel to the defendants, Akeem Afolabi, said they have filed a preliminary objection challenging the territorial jurisdiction of the FCT High Court to hear the case.

    Afolabi said that the case related to the office of governor of Bayelsa; it is either the Bayelsa High Court or the Federal High Court that has the jurisdiction to entertain it.

    Justice Mukhtar Dodo ordered the lawyers to serve all the processes in the case on parties to the suit.

    He adjourned till January 12, 2016 for continuation of hearing.

  • APC chieftain dares Dickson to present scorecard

    APC chieftain dares Dickson to present scorecard

    A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bayelsa State, Chief Bodi Arerebo, Monday, asked the state Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Seriake Dickson, to stop whipping up sentiment and present his scorecards to the people.

    Arerebo, who is a kinsman of Dickson in Sabgama Local Government Area, said election is not won by constantly attacking personalities of one’s opponents.

    He said Dickson had been able to contribute to the popularity of Sylva by peddling lies against the former governor just to demonise him.

    He said Dickson lacked self-confidence because he had little or nothing to show the people for all the money he received in his first term in office.

    According to him the supporters of Dickson were increasingly becoming frustrated and desperate and resorting to violence for lack of conviction.

    For instance, Arerebo lamented that suspected PDP thugs stormed the venue of an APC rally in his Agorogbeni community, Sagbama, and unleashed violence on APC members.

    He said the thugs are sponsored by foot soldiers of the governor attacked them with weapons such as axes and matchetes and injured many of them.

    He said: “We had a rally in Agorogbeni, my community, in Sagbama local government, opposite Okobiri, and PDP thugs disrupted our rally. At the rally, we had over 150 people from the PDP that crossed over to the APC.

    “We were having a peaceful rally until people came from nowhere with guns, machete and axes and as I speak a lot of people were injured, and one presently hospitalized in an undisclosed hospital.

    “We have in good authority that people working for Dickson sponsored the thugs that attacked us. They said they were not happy that the people of the community decided to cast their votes for the APC.”

    He wondered why a government that has been preaching against federal might would resort to the use of thugs to harass and intimidate people.

    He said: “The man Sylva is humble. He is somebody who has the spirit of forgiveness, some of the people you have in APC today are people that worked with Sylva in his previous administration but abandoned him during his travail.

    “The people that worked against him call him bad names and brought the misunderstanding between Sylva and Jonathan all came back and he has forgiven them and today they are working together again and Sylva did not remind them of the past.

    “He did not even habour any grudge or hard feeling against Jonathan for his role in his infamous removal from office. In fact he was planning to go see him in his home as a statesman until Jonathan went on air to say he was in support of one particular candidate.”

  • ‘Sylva’s returning to rebuild Bayelsa’

    ‘Sylva’s returning to rebuild Bayelsa’

    Nathan Egba is the Director of Media and Publicity, Timipre Sylva Campaign Organisation and the former Commissioner for Information and Strategy under the Sylva administration. In this interview with Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI, he argues that the Bayelsa All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate is unstoppable in the December 5 governorship election because of his achievements.   

    Can you give us a background to Sylva’s first coming under the PDP?

    He was in office as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor, as you rightly pointed out and the party at that time had a tradition and a way of doing things, which he keyed into. So, there was a sense of impunity and because the state was a PDP state, you could do whatever you wanted and get away with it. As a candidate of the PDP, you are sure you will win the election; there was a certain degree of lack of accountability to the people. So, what matters to those in power was how to get the PDP ticket. But, today, because of the coming of the APC, that situation has changed totally. Again, because of what has happened to Sylva, how he was made to leave office and all the things he experienced while out of office, he has been sufficiently prepared morally, psychologically, mentally and even academically — because he has also used that period to upgrade himself academically — for office than he was previously when he was in office.

    What would you say is Timipre Sylva strongest point?

    The strongest point as a matter of fact is the people of Bayelsa. This is because the man in office today has governed the state so badly that he has singled-handedly popularized Sylva. Indeed, his actions in office are the biggest campaign for Sylva. Let’s be honest, about a year ago, nobody in Bayelsa would have thought of the possibility of a Sylva candidacy or his coming back to govern the state again. Cumulatively, the activities of the present governor have gotten to a point where people have said, look, there is no way we can continue with this man. He is so bad that anybody presented by a major party stands the chance of defeating him. That’s the reason why you have so many contenders for the APC ticket. It is that bad. So, the fact that he has been in office and the things he did while in office, compared to what Governor Seriake Dickson has not been able to do with all the money available to him, people have suddenly discovered that this man they have been vilifying all this while is not as bad as he has been painted. The fact that he was able to do all that he did at the time he was in office, with the little money available to him, suggests that he did well. For instance, he constructed 58 internal roads in the capital; all the roads crisscrossing Yenogoa. There are two parallel roads in Yenogoa. Before Sylva came to power, there are no connecting roads. It was Chief Timipre Sylva’s administration that constructed a network of 52 roads within the capital. With that people can now move freely within Yenogoa. He also did a major waterworks in Yenogoa, but you can’t believe it the present governor came in and, in the name of expanding roads within the capital, dug up the pipes that were to distribute water across the metropolis and threw them away. There is no neighbourhood in Yenogoa today that is enjoying pipe-borne water. This kind of thing is replicated across various sectors. For instance, there is this hospital that was started by the late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, continued by Goodluck Jonathan and finished by Sylva. As we speak, everything you need to run the hospital is in place; in fact, Chief Sylva was arranging for the commissioning of the hospital before he was kicked off from office. The hospital today is exactly the way Sylva left it. Just because Sylva’s name is associated with the hospital, what did the governor do? He went to the same hospital complex and built another structure, which he called a diagnostic centre and another called doctors’ quarters. Meanwhile, the hospital that the diagnostic centre and the doctors’ quarters are supposed to serve is not functioning yet. His preoccupation is to put up something to overshadow the main project, so that he can then take the glory.

    When Sylva was in office, he came up with the idea of building one or two industries, which would eventually transferred to the private sector. He came up with a plastic industry, which was fully operational. In fact, I don’t have the figures, but I was told that in the first three months, it would have broken even. But, as we speak, the place is locked up and whatever equipment that is inside is rotting away. So, sector by sector, that is the situation. He came into office, instead of building on what is on the ground, he decided to look the other way and allow what others have done to rot away. And because he wanted to impress the people of Bayelsa, he decided to do so many things, but he eventually ended up not being able to commission any of them. The only thing he keeps talking about is one fly-over, which leads to nowhere because the end of the fly-over is the waterside. But, Sylva was able to commission projects under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and President Jonathan.

    But, the allegation is that Sylva did not do anything….

    That’s exactly what I’m telling you; that’s his approach to govern

    ance and it is a wrong approach to governance. There is a library as we speak, the Bayelsa State Library, it was started by Alamieyeseigha, continued again by Jonathan and finished by Sylva. As we speak, the doors of that library have not been opened since he got to office. But, the question is, what is the project that he did that one can mention? If you ask him, he will say: I have built bridges upon bridges; schools upon schools; hospitals upon hospitals. But, he would mention one specifically. Talking of hospitals, there is a state-of–the–art medical centre in Yenogoa called Diette Koki Memorial Hospital. It was started by Sylva and completed by him. It was former President Jonathan that commissioned it. I recall that he lauded the project, saying it is the type of project he would encourage other governors to emulate. There is also a Law School in Bayelsa. It was started by Sylva, completed and commissioned by him. There is also a school that was supposed to be a skills acquisition centre, but when Dickson took over, he turned it into Bayelsa State College of Education and named it after himself, even though he did not build it. You may recall that there is a hotel, which the former President said Sylva was chased out of office because he failed to complete it. It’s a 20-floor hotel. Sylva took it from the second to the 18th floor. Today, the project is exactly where Sylva left it; the man that benefitted because Sylva didn’t complete it did not touch it himself.

    How united is Bayelsa APC; there are reports of some groups going back to the PDP?

    Two gentlemen, Senator John Brambaifa and Alex Ekiotenne, are behind the defection back to the PDP. Two men rather; I don’t think I can call them gentlemen. They came into the APC in August this year and returned back to the fold October of the same year. This obviously tells you that they came into the APC for a mission, which is to destabilize the party. Two of them, I understand, have been given appointments; one of them as the chairman of the Bayelsa Geographic Information Systems. So, to answer your question, the APC family is united. The two men behind this are interlopers who came into the APC for a mission and they have failed in that mission; that is why they quickly scurried back to the PDP. This does not in any way suggest that the APC family is divided.

    How cordial is the relationship between Alaibe and Sylva after the primaries?

    The relationship between Alaibe and Sylva is very cordial. Why I’m I saying so? This is because I’m very close to Alaibe and I’m Sylva’s spokesman. I can tell you that Alaibe is supposed to have been in this programme, but he went to Abuja for the swearing-in of the ministers and he also has an appointment abroad and is flying out tomorrow. I spoke with him yesterday; he told me that Sylva was at his house here in Lagos four days ago. Don’t forget that Alaibe has issued two statements, declaring support for Sylva. Beyond being a mind-reader, we can only judge with what we see and what we hear.

    In your view, what impact would Jonathan make in the election as former President?

    That’s a very interesting question because there has been a debate whether or not he can sway the votes. I don’t want to criticize Jonathan’s tenure in office, but for Bayelsans to be able to say they will go along with him, they ask themselves what he did for them when he was in office. As we speak, the East-West Road is about 70/75 completed. The only bad portion is the stretch from Bayelsa; if you get into Bayelsa, you will encounter the bad portion; as you leave Bayelsa, the bad portion ends. So, that is all I can say. The only other thing that came into Bayelsa during his tenure is the new federal university, which of course is located in his community.