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Tag: Bayelsa State

  • Lokpobiri, Dickson trade blames over security challenges in Bayelsa

    Lokpobiri, Dickson trade blames over security challenges in Bayelsa

    Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, and Gov. Seriake Dickson have continued to trade blames over the current security challenges in Bayelsa.

    Dickson had on Friday accused Lokpobiri and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of being the masterminds of election violence in the state.

    But Lokpobiri, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr George Orgi, alleged that Dickson was only engaging in a blame-game against the main opposition party in the state.

    He described as false and malicious, the allegation that APC was “plotting to use the security agencies to rig, manipulate and unleash violence on voters in the state.”

    He said: “In the warped imagination of the governor, the leadership of the main opposition party in the state is arming thugs with all sorts of ammunition and weapons to attack the electorate.

    “This allegation comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the political antics and deceit of the governor.

    “APC is not surprised at this recent allegation by Dickson,” the minister further stated, adding that it had dawned on the governor that the game was up for him.

    He boasted that APC was like a moving train in Bayelsa, which could not be stopped by anybody, including Dickson.

    “The APC is moving in full force to reclaim the state, starting with a landslide victory at the Presidential and National Assembly polls,” he said.

    He said that APC’s door-to-door campaign had commenced throughout the nooks and crannies of the state.

    Lokpobiri said that the governor was “obviously frightened by the massive support APC was receiving in the state. “

    He said that there was no reason for APC, “which is cruising to electoral victory, to either engage in political violence, store weapons or recruit political thugs.”

    He said that Dickson was only “trying to run away from his negative shadows haunting him, by stoking non-existent allegations to cover up his failure in office.”

    Lokpobiri said, “The governor should face the obvious challenge of giving account of his stewardship to the people of Bayelsa.”

    The minister alleged that the governor was panicky because he was conscious that his tenure would soon come to an end and that the people would demand the account of his stewardship.

    The leaderdhip of APC in the state, including former Gov. Timipre Sylva and Lokpobiri, recently marched to the police headquarters to protest the recent killing of some party members in the state.

     

  • Bayelsa Govt. vows to tackle arms buildup, electoral violence

    Bayelsa Govt. vows to tackle arms buildup, electoral violence

    The Bayelsa government has vowed to deal with people stockpiling arms with intention of causing violence in the forthcoming general elections in the state.

    The government made the pledge at the State Executive Council meeting on Thursday in Yenagoa.

    The government said it would use the instrumentality of the law to punish anyone or group found to be disrupting the existing peace in the state during and after the forthcoming general elections.

    The council at its 104th meeting said it also deliberated extensively on a report before it that some politicians in the state are stockpiling arms for the purpose of causing mayhem.

    Addressing newsman, the new Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Arthur Seweniowor, said the government would not fold its arms and watch unscrupulous politicians to turn the state into a killing field.

    He stated that as a responsible government it would not allow what happened during the 2015 and 2016 governorship election to repeat itself.

    The state’s attorney general and commissioner for justice also stressed that Bayelsa government had a constitutional mandate to protect lives and property.

    Seweniowor, who maintained that elections were not war but a healthy contest to pick leaders, called on youths not to allow themselves to be used by selfish politicians to commit atrocities.

    “The violence that characterised the 2015 governorship election in the state was still fresh in our minds.

    “If you recall, the government did set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the crisis that engulfed parts of the state in course of the election.

    “A white paper was later produced after the panel submitted its report. It is sad to note that those indicted in that report are still the same persons who are stockpiling arms today.

    “We want to make it clear that on no account will anyone be allowed to launch a reign of terror and brigand on the people.

    “We are determined to bring anyone or group of persons found culpable to book.

    “We call on our youths not to allow themselves to be deployed as tools for electoral violence and manipulation,” Seweniowor said.

    On his part, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, alleged that opposition politicians in the state were not preparing for elections but war.

    Iworiso-Markson said: “ because they know how unpopular they are, they have resorted to creating instability and turning the state into a theatre of war.”

    He appealed to parents and guardians to talk to their children and wards to stay away from desperate politicians and their evil plots.

    According to him, rather than take up arms, the youth should keep their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) closer to elect responsible leaders that will bring more development to the state.

    “Some of the opposition leaders only come back home when there is election and because of they are not popular they institute violent means to get into power,” he said.

     

  • NSCDC deploys 1000 personnel in Bayelsa ahead of general election

    The Bayelsa Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) says it has deployed over 1,000 personnel for election duties ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

    The NSCDC state Commandant, Mrs Christiana Abiakam-Omanu told the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Yenagoa that the Command was fully prepared for the exercise.

    “The Command will not tolerate any form of violence during the polls; those who want to ferment trouble before, during and after the forthcoming elections in the state should better have a rethink.

    “Officers and men of the corps are adequately prepared and ready for the elections and willing to collaborate with other security agencies to ensure peaceful elections in Bayelsa.’’

    Abiakam-Omanu said that the command would deploy over 1, 000 officers and men during the polls in the state.

    She explained that officers and men of the command have undergone intensive training and briefings on their expected roles during the elections.

    “We seriously develop some training programmes for our officers and we proactively ensure that they understand clearly their duties and what is expected of them on the Election Day.

    “We have also put in place a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure that any officer found culpable during the polls would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    “We expect our officers to be professional in the discharge of their duties on election days,” Abiakam-Omanu said.

    The Commandant urged politicians and other stakeholders to play the game by the rules.

    She also called on parents to caution their children to stay away from any act capable of breaching the peace before, during and after the election.

     

  • Bayelsa gets new Commissioner for Justice

    Bayelsa gets new Commissioner for Justice

    Bayelsa Government has announced the appointment of Mr Arthur Seweniowor as the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

    He replaced Mr Wodu Kemasuode who had served Gov. Seriake Dickson’s administration in the last six years.

    Seweniowor was until his new appointment, the Commissioner in charge of the newly created Ministry of State for Special Services.

    A statement by Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Bayelsa Commissioner for Information, said Dickson wished Kemasuade success in all his future endeavours.

    Kemasuode was the longest serving Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the history of Bayelsa.

     

  • Uncollected PVCs below 20% in Bayelsa, says INEC

    Uncollected PVCs below 20% in Bayelsa, says INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Bayelsa, has said that the uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the state was below 20 per cent.

    The new Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr Monday Udoh, made this disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

    Udoh explained that the commission had so far distributed more than 80 per cent PVCs to the owners in the state.

    Recall that INEC registered no fewer than 1,036,442 eligible persons during voters’ registration exercise in the state.

    ”The distribution was decentralised at ward levels including the coastal communities to ensure that those, who registered, collect their PVCs before the general elections.

    ”As at today, the percentage of card collection is more than 80 per cent; what is left is small, because of the voter education that was carried out.

    “We are still working hard to ensure that all PVCs get to the rightful owners.

    ”For the remaining ones, which is below 20 per cent, the commission will ensure that they are distributed before Feb. 8 deadline for collection.

    ”On terrain challenges in the state, the commission is in talks with the boat owners associations to engage their services during the elections.

    ”He expressed confidence that the forthcoming elections would be free and credible; that is, on the basis of one man one vote,” he stated.

     

  • Bayelsa gets new medical university

    Bayelsa gets new medical university

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the take-off of the Bayelsa Medical University (BMU) the third University in the state and number 48 state owned university in the country.

    The approval was given by Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Executive Secretary, (NUC) in Abuja on Thursday.

    Rasheed said it was necessary to have a specialised university in the state which would be a pacesetter in medical line judging by the governor’s doggedness in advancing the course of education in the state.

    The establishment of BMU brings the number of universities to 170 in the country.

    BMU is now recognised as the second public medical university and the fourth medical university in Nigeria.

    It will be recalled that Bayelsa State already has two functional universities; the Niger Delta University, established in 2000, and the University of Africa, established two years ago.

    The executive secretary said though the commission did not want the proliferation of universities, Gov. Seriake Dickson’s achievements in the two other universities was sufficient encouragement for the establishment of another one to increase enrollment.

    “With the powers confined on me and the management of NUC, we shall recognise Bayelsa Medical University as the 48th state university and the second public medical university in Nigeria.

    “It has also become the fourth medical university in Nigeria.

    “This is because we have two private universities, one in Port Harcourt and the other in Lagos; and now we have two public medical Universities, one in Ondo State and the new one in Bayelsa.

    “We do not want the proliferation of universities. We are aware that some states only build more and neglect, but with what the governor has done with the two universities, we feel that anything he touches becomes gold.

    “We hope that this University will be a pacesetter. It is number four in line, but we hope it will soon be number one,’’ he said.

    He noted that the current 169 Universities have a total enrollment of only two million students, when Nigeria’s population stood at 200 million, meaning that just one per cent of students were currently enrolled into the university system.

    Rasheed encouraged governments and other stakeholders, to contribute to the country’s educational development.

    Speaking earlier, Dickson said investment in education was a cardinal point of his administration.

    The governor said the state had continued to fund education in the state in the last seven years through the establishment of model boarding schools, provision of learning materials, learning and teaching infrastructure and others.

    He noted that the state which was ranked number 27 in education in 2012, had moved to the third, Fourth and second position in the last three years.

    He said: “If we do not invest in education and build schools, we should be prepared to build more prisons and to enrich more cemeteries.”

    “In Bayelsa, furthering the course of education is one of the top priorities of the government as we have decided to match our words with actions.

    “The crisis I met in Bayelsa was such that I had to compel children of school age to be in school through melt down penalties.

    “We now have over 10,000 students taken from their parents and spread in all the boarding schools.

    “We take responsibility for their feeding, uniforms, books and others; and we also paid for the WAEC fees of all students in our model boarding schools.’’

    The governor said that the Bayelsa Education Trust Fund had been set up where contributions were made by him and everyone who earned from the state to cater for the educational needs of the state.

    He also noted that a Technical and Science Board had also been created in the state to encourage Science, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) study.

    “With all these, we believe there is need for more tertiary institutions.

    “The enrolment figure has increased, so we want a specialised University to meet the demand of our students,’’ he said.

    Dickson, who said that there would be no government interference with the university, pledged to make it the best training institution in Africa.

     

  • Bayelsa Polls: INEC assures women of adequate protection

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Bayelsa has assured women in the state of adequate protection before, during and after the elections.

    The commission said it was partnering the police and other stakeholders in Bayelsa to achieve violence-free polls.

    Dr Cyril Omoregbe, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, made the promise on Wednesday in Yenogoa at a one-day seminar on “Mitigation of Electoral Violence Against Women.”

    He said that the commission remained committed to political gender equality.

    Omoregbe, represented by INEC Administrative Secretary, Mr Leberi Sampson, said that the programme was to sensitise women on steps and ways to curtail violence against them and their activities during the elections.

    “The programme will be a guide to the women when they are out during the elections; they will know what to do and how to do it and what not to do during the period.

    “The women should go out to vote; they should not be afraid because INEC is committed to violence-free polls, committed to free and fair elections and are gender friendly.

    Mr Amimu Pai, the Bayelsa Commissioner of Police, warned perpetrators of such electoral violence to steer clear in the interest of free and fair elections.

    Pai, represented by Dr Rita Abbey, DPO, Ekeki Division, assured women of maximum security before, during and after elections.

    “Police will not tolerate any form of violence and I must assure the women that the police are ready to protect lives and property in Bayelsa because that is our major duty.

    “Officers and men will be posted to every nook and cranny of Baylesa during the elections,” the CP said.

    Dise Ogbise, the Representative of Bayelsa Chapter of Women in Peace and Security Network, commended INEC for putting up the programme.

    “Yes, it will help the women to exercise their rights in the elections. The women should be bold and they must collect their PVCs in order to cast their votes,” she advised.

     

  • Bayelsa Police arrest man for poisoning 3 ‘wizard’ sons with sniper

    Bayelsa Police arrest man for poisoning 3 ‘wizard’ sons with sniper

    Mr Aminu Saleh, Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa, says that a father of three, Mr Samuel Sunday, has been arrested for allegedly poisoning his three children with sniper.

    The police commissioner told newsmen at the crime scene in Bayelsa that two of the children died after drinking sniper while the third one survived.

    The surviving son told newsmen that their father and his brother gave them the sniper to drink.

    “Our father and his brother tied three of us and gave us sniper to drink.

    “I was told that my brothers are dead, and that I am the only one that survived,” the boy said in tears on his hospital bed.

    He said that suspect and his brother, Aya Preye, were being charged for the murder of the two children.

    He identified the deceased boys as Miracle (12) and God’s time (10).

    Sunday and his wife had divorced but the three children were living with their grandmother before the incident occurred.

    The police commissioner said that the suspect had alleged that his sons were wizards who were responsible for his sickness.

    Dr Moses Emeka of Hillem Medical Centre, who attended to the only survivor, said the boy was brought to the hospital unconscious by an NDLEA official.

    The doctor confirmed that the survivor was responding to treatment and would soon recover.

     

  • Pipeline vandalism: Bayelsa community accuses Shell of involvement, company denies

    The people of Ikarama in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa and the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) have differed on causes of frequent oil spills in the area.

    SPDC operates several oilfields within the Biseni axis of Yenagoa council area which is notorious for frequent oil spills.

    The community has accused the staff of the oil major as being instrumental to some oil spills in the environment, alleging that Shell staff and contractors “make money through oil spillages.”

    Chief Herbertson Lamie, the Paramount Ruler of Ikarama, affirmed the community’s position in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa on Monday.

    According to the traditional ruler, the perception that the people were behind the frequent spills was wrong.

    Lamie said that the community had tabled the matter when Robert Petri, the Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria visited the community to see firsthand some impacted sites in the area.

    He said that the community had made its position known during a town hall meeting with the ambassador that SPDC had totally abdicated its social obligations in Ikarama.

    The paramount ruler alleged that the oil firm had also devised ways of evading dialogue with the people over issues arising from the oil firm’s extractive activities in the area.

    “Shell never takes us as a host community. Most times, when we have problems and we write to Shell for audience, Shell will never have audience with us.

    “When there is a problem and leaders of the community want to tell them the way out of the problem, Shell would rather ignite the problem.

    “But the most disturbing problem we have is oil spillage in Ikarama community.

    “We have oil spillage problem and this problem is ingnited by Shell staff. Shell is mostly the cause of oil spills in Ikarama community.” lamie alleged.

    Reacting to the allegations, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, the Media Relations Manager of SPDC, said the oil firm was in the business of producing and selling oil and not spilling it.

    Odugbesan said that the oil firm did not tolerate leaks.

    “We remain committed to our Goal Zero which means zero leak and zero harm to people and environment. Our staff and contractors are bound by this high standard of environmental performance.

    “Our social investment programmes are designed to benefit our host communities in particular and we implement diverse programmes in scholarship.

    ”Also, we engaged in development projects through the Global Memorandum of Understanding and other initiatives within the resources available,” Odugbesan said.

     

  • Petrol tanker collides with tricycles in Yenagoa

    Petrol tanker collides with tricycles in Yenagoa

    Four persons have been critically injured in a ghastly motor accident involving a tanker laden with petrol and two commercial tricycles known as ”Keke NAPEP”.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the incident happened on Sunday morning along Akenpai, a suburb of Yenagoa, the state capital.

    The accident, according to a resident who witnessed it, occurred around 10:40 a.m. when the tanker laden with premium motor spirit, lost control and hit the tricycles at its front.

    The witness who only identified herself as Ann, explained that it took the intervention of people to get some heavy-duty equipments to pull out people who were trapped between the tricycles and the fuel tanker.

    According to Ann, at the time of the incident, some of the victims, numbering four were seen gasping for breath and were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa.

    She added that men of the fire service were presently on ground putting measures in place to prevent a possible fire outbreak.

    When contacted on telephone, Bayelsa Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps said that he was on his way from a trip to Abuja and pledged to update on the incident as soon as he got back.

    A NAN Correspondent who visited the scene reports that the petrol was gushing out of the tanker but the presence of policemen discouraged people from scooping the product.

    The Spokesman of the Police Command in Bayelsa, DSP Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident to NAN.

    Butswat said he was aware of the incident but that he had not been informed of any loss of lives.

    Butswat also said on telephone that the Fire Service personnel had been notified of the accident and that Policemen had been drafted to cordon off the area to forestall possible fire explosion following the spillage from the tanker.

    “Yes, I am aware of the accident, but what I can’t confirm is if there has been loss of lives, because I have not been briefed by my men.

    “We have notified the Fire Service and I can confirm to you that our men have cordoned off the area.” Butswat said.