TheNewsGuru

Tag: Bayelsa State

  • Shocking! Gunmen kill newly appointed Bayelsa governor’s aide

    Shocking! Gunmen kill newly appointed Bayelsa governor’s aide

    Gunmen have shot dead Mr Ebikimi Okoringa, a newly appointed Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state.

    TheNewsGuru reports a community leader, who preferred anonymity, made this known on Tuesday in Yanagoa, the capital of the state.

    The community leader disclosed Okoringa was shot on Monday by some assailants who laid ambush near his house in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

    “The incident occurred around 10.00 pm, the assailants waited for him in the cover of darkness, immediately he alighted from his car and walked towards the door, they released the first bullet on him.

    “The bullet tore his hand, but he started running to escape from the scene, they chased him to a point where he fell down and pumped many bullets into his body at a close range,” he said.

    The Police Command in the state confirmed the incident.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the incident, said the command would issue a statement on the matter.

    The deceased, a two-time councilor and former Acting Chairman of Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA, was yet to be assigned portfolio in his new appointment by the governor.

     

  • Bayelsa Govt to sensitise citizenry over uncollected PVCs

    The Bayelsa Government has pledged to mobilise its citizenry to collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to enable them to fully participate in the 2019 general elections.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that no fewer than 28, 590 PVCs were yet to be collected by their owners while more than 65,000 new voters had been captured in the state during the recent registration exercise.

    Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Commissioner for Information in the state made the pledge on Sunday while in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria at Opume in Ogbia Local Government Area.

    He said that the state government would mobilise the citizenry in realisation that the people were at the centre of political activities and should be encouraged to participate in the electoral process.

    “The government of Gov. Seriake Dickson realises that politics is about numbers and given the renewed confidence that we have in INEC that our votes do count, we are relying on the people and hence mobilising them to participate in elections.

    “Since we abhor politics of violence in elections, our strategy is to increase the participation of the people.

    “In Ogbia, we used to record the second largest votes but we have dropped to the fifth, due to apathy.

    “So we are looking forward to closing that gap in future elections,” he said.

    Iworiso-Markson who monitored the just concluded Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in the area expressed satisfaction at the turn out and further appealed to INEC to extend the exercise to capture all eligible voters.

    He said that after the three weeks period of the CVR, prospective voters were still turning up for the exercise which ended on Friday.

    “The people of Opume kingdom have shown so much enthusiasm in responding to the call to participate in their civic responsibility to participate in the electoral process.

    “They keep coming out and even on the final day of the exercise some people are yet to be captured and we are hoping that INEC officers will report to the leadership for possible extension,” the commissioner said.

     

  • Police arrest taxi drivers for alleged rape in Yenagoa

    The Police Command in Bayelsa says its officers have arrested two taxi drivers for allegedly raping a female dancer.

    Mr Asinim Butswat, Deputy Superintendent of Police in the command, confirmed the arrest of the suspects in Yenagoa on Monday.

    He said that the dancer decided to board a taxi on Easter day in Yenagoa after her performance on the day before the incident.

    “On April 1, the police were alerted that a young girl was sexually assaulted and her cell phone was stolen from her by two taxi drivers at the opposite of a hotel in Kpansia, Yenagoa.

    “The victim, a female, 22, reported that she contacted one Nathan Ogbara, 33, a taxi driver to drop her at her house, after she participated in a dance competition that day.

    “She also reported that Ogbara called one Justin Amos, 32, also a taxi driver to join him.

    “She alleged that along the road, the suspects parked their cars and dragged her to a nearby bush and raped her, taking away her cell phone.

    Butswat said that the police patrol team arrested the suspects and recovered the stolen cell phone while their taxis were impounded, pending the result of the police investigation.

    He advised the public to report crime incident to the police promptly, noting that the command was committed to reducing crime in the state.

     

  • Bayelsa Govt records N1.4bn increase in Feb. salary

    Bayelsa Govt records N1.4bn increase in Feb. salary

    The Bayelsa Government says it will spend N3.5 billion for the payment of civil servants salary in February against the N2.9 billion spent for January salary in the state.

    Gov. Seriake Dickson disclosed this through his deputy, retired Rear Admiral Gborigbiogha John-Jonah.

    He spoke on Wednesday in Yenagoa during the monthly transparency briefing to outline the expenditure of government during the month.

    The governor attributed the increase in salary for the month to the introduction of school feeding programme and boarding facilities in public schools across the state, where more staff would be engaged.

    He, however, promised to sustain the school feeding programme in the state to encourage the citizens and Nigerians living in the state to acquire qualitative education.

    According to him, the state spent over N2 billion on January salaries, while the increase for February will help in educational sector.

    He said that the state government invested huge funds to remodel and provide adequate facilities for intensive learning for Bayelsa children and other Nigerians living in the state.

    “In the month of January, the state received N2.9 billion as its statutory allocation; N9.6 billion, over N730 million from VAT; N8.9 million from Forex, and N57.5 million from the refund from other states which amount to the sum of N14, 289,476,335,70 for the month,” he highlighted.

    He announced that the state during the period under review, the state spent N630 million for salary grants to the state owned tertiary institutions, explaining that the state is expecting increase in its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the months of February and March.

     

  • APC expels Bayelsa chapter chairman, Tiwe Oruminighe for anti-party activities

    The National Headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the weekend, said its Bayelsa State Chairman, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe had been expelled from the party.

    The party also confirmed the suspension of two other members of the State Working Committee (SWC), the Deputy Chairman of the party, Mr. Eddy Julius and the Secretary, Mr. Marlin Daniel.

    The party has dispatched separate letters of Oruminighe’s expulsion and the suspension of only two members of the executive committee loyal to him.

    There was, however, confusion as two separate letters containing conflicting punishments for the deposed chairman emanated from the headquarters.

    While the first letter said Oruminighe had been suspended, the second document said his punishment was outright expulsion.

    In the second letter dated August 4 and titled, “Expulsion from the Party”, APC said the decision against Oruminighe was reached at the 23rd regular meeting of its National Working Committee (NWC).

    The letter signed by the National Secretary of the party, Mr. Mai Buni, said the NWC took the action following the recommendations of the APC South-South Zonal Executive Committee.

    The letter said the committee deliberated on the report of the party’s Disciplinary Committee on Oruminighe’s anti-party activities in the state.

    “On behalf of the National Executive Committee of our party, All Progressives Congress, the National Working Committee at its 23rd regular meeting of Thursday, 3rd August 2017 adopted the recommendations of APC South-South Zonal Executive Committee.

    “The committee deliberated on the report of the Disciplinary Committee that investigated your anti-party activities in Bayelsa State to the effect that you be suspended and ultimately from the party”.

    The letter, however, said the decision of the NWC was subject to the ratification of the party’s NEC.

    “As a consequence, you are to hand over all party property in your possession to the Zonal Vice-Chairman, Bayelsa Central Senatorial District with immediate effect while the National Vice-Chairman, South-South shall coordinate the state chapter of the party”, the letter said.

    Similar separate letters, titled, Suspension from the Party, were also addressed to Julius and Daniel.

    Three of them fell out with the state leader of the party and former Governor of Bayelsa, Chief Timipre Sylva, shortly after the 2015 governorship election in the state.

    The feud led to the the division of the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the APC into two factions with other members of the committee declaring their loyalty to Sylva.

    The police and the Department of State Security (DSS) deployed a detachment to take over the secretariat of the party in the state at the weekend following tension created by the suspension.

    It was, however, gathered that the party in the state had selected Joseph Fafi, serving as a Vice-Chairman, Central Senatorial District, on the State Executive Committee (SEC) to fill the vacuum created by Oruminighe’s suspension.

    Already, most party members were in high spirits and were said to be jubilating over the choice of Fafi as the acting chairman of the party in the state.

    It was learnt that prior to the suspension of Oruminighe and the two executive committee loyal to him, other members of SEC held several meetings declaring confidence in Fafi.