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Tag: bayelsa

  • Bayelsa Govt. suspends Ohanaeze Ndigbo re-run election indefinitely

    Bayelsa Govt. suspends Ohanaeze Ndigbo re-run election indefinitely

    The Bayelsa Government has suspended the re-run election of the Bayelsa chapter of Ohaneze Ndigbo.

    The Bayelsa Deputy Gov. Mr Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said this in a meeting with leaders and stakeholders of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Yenagoa, on Friday.

    Ewhrudjakpo also disbanded the Electoral Committee that conducted the election on Feb. 23 that ended in a stalemate, adding that the committee fell short of expectations in the performance of its duties.

    He warned those planning to participate in the re-run election that would produce a substantive President, scheduled for Saturday to have a change of mind in their own interest.

    Ewhrudjakpo explained that the Bayelsa government decided to intervene to promote peace and harmony among the Igbos in the state as well as forestall the breakdown of law and order.

    According to him, government has already given directive to security agencies to arrest and prosecute whoever violates its directives bordering on the election of the state president of Ohaneze.

    He acknowledged the supportive role being played by Igbos in the development of Bayelsa and urged them to continue to live as brothers and sisters.

    Ewhrudjakpo said the Igbos should never allow the issue of electing a new leadership to divide them.

    “As a government, we appreciate what you have been doing for our state. You are outstanding and that is why we respect you.

    “This is the first time we are meeting again after our second term election. So, let me on behalf of the governor and myself, thank you for supporting us.

    “We are not taking your support for granted. That is why for the first time in the history of this state, one of you, an Igbo son, is appointed as commissioner,’’ he said.

    Ewhrudjakpo said: “On the issue that has brought us here, what does the Ohanaeze Ndigbo want? Would you allow election of your leaders to polarise and destroy Ohaneze Ndigbo in Bayelsa?

    “On Saturday, the security agencies will be deployed round; So, anybody who gathers in the name of doing Ohanaeze election in this state will be a guest to the Police or DSS.

    “Government will not impose any candidate on Ohanaeze, but government will ensure that there is peace and tranquility.

    “We want to see how we can reconcile you people. On that note, we are setting up a reconciliation committee now.”

    Ewhrudjakpo constituted a reconciliation committee to look into the issues causing the dispute and come up with recommendations within two weeks to enable government to settle the misunderstanding.

    Earlier, the two candidates contesting the position of Presidency of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Bayelsa which is zoned to Anambra State, Mr Frank Odinekwe, and Mr Anthony Olikagwu, appreciated the state government for the intervention.

    The two contesters appealed to the government to help the sociopolitical organisation resolve its internal conflict.

    Responding on behalf of the Reconciliation Committee, the Chairman and Special Adviser to the governor on Political Matters, Chief Collins Cocodia, expressed gratitude to the deputy governor for finding them worthy for the assignment.

    Cocodia promised that the committee would do its best to find lasting solutions to the problem.

  • Gov. Diri rejects South-South PDP congress

    Gov. Diri rejects South-South PDP congress

    Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has dismissed reports of a congress held in Calabar. He said the national leadership rejected it and would set a new date.

    Diri made this known on Monday during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) State Executive Council (SEC) meeting at the party’s secretariat in Yenagoa.

    He stated: “Our party is thriving in Bayelsa State. We remain the party to beat. PDP has never lost here. If you seek relevance, you should join PDP.

    “PDP in Bayelsa is united and cannot be weakened. This party produced a Nigerian president from our state. It has also produced governors and federal legislators.

    “This party is strong at the state level and will remain so. Let us ignore rumours. Some aim to divide us, but they will not succeed.

    He clarified that no zonal congress took place in the South-South. The national leadership, in consultation with zonal leaders, would determine a new date at the right time.

    The governor assured that the PDP in Bayelsa remained intact and was the best platform for politicians aiming to achieve their ambitions.

    Diri reiterated that PDP had produced key office holders, including a former Nigerian president, and remained dominant in Bayelsa politics.

    He urged members to stay united and avoid distractions, emphasising the need for collective efforts to strengthen the party in the state.

    Diri further explained that the South-South zonal congress, initially scheduled for Feb. 22, was postponed by the National Working Committee.

    He revealed that the decision followed a request from the four South-South governors, who informed the party’s leadership that the date was unsuitable.

    Meanwhile, the people of Ogbia Local Government have apologised to the governor and the party for the actions of the suspended Zonal Legal Adviser, George Turnah.

    Speaking at the meeting, Ogbia Constituency 3 representative, Gabriel Ogbara, said the apology was necessary, as betrayal was not in the character of Ogbia people.

    Ogbara described Turnah’s actions as regrettable and pleaded for forgiveness, reaffirming Ogbia’s loyalty to the party and its leadership.

    The State Executive Council passed a vote of confidence in Diri and his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, affirming their leadership.

    The motion was moved by Oforji Oboku, representing Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency, and seconded by the State Assembly Leader, Monday Obolo.

    Earlier, State PDP Chairman, Solomon Agwana, praised Diri’s administration, citing its numerous development projects across Bayelsa as evidence of good governance.

    Agwana commended the governor for fostering unity within the party and urged continued support for the administration to ensure further development in the state.

    State PDP Secretary, Gesiye Isowo, also lauded Diri’s achievements, stating that his performance had made future election campaigns easier, given the many completed projects.

    In attendance were the deputy governor, and Ogbia Federal Constituency representative, Rep. Mitema Obordor.

    Also present were former deputy governors Rear Adm. Gboribiogha John-Jonah (rtd) and Werinipre Seibarugu, alongside PDP South-South Zonal Secretary, Prof. Felix Omemu.

    Local government chairmen and other key party stakeholders also participated in the meeting.

  • Obololi Spill: Shell shuts Nun River-Kolo Creek crude oil line in Bayelsa

    Obololi Spill: Shell shuts Nun River-Kolo Creek crude oil line in Bayelsa

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) on Friday announced that it has shut crude feeds into the 16 inch Nun River-Kolo Creek crude trunkline.

    The development follows an oil leak on the pipeline at Obololi community, a coastline community along the River Nun in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa.

    Mr Chukuwemka Woke, Director-General, National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) had told NAN that the spill occured on Feb. 16 and was reported on Feb. 17.

    The shutdown was announced in a statement by Mr Michael Adande, a Spokesman for SPDC in a reaction to response requst by NAN after the spill.

    According to the statement, the shutdown had stopped the leak while remediation efforts are ongoing to contain the spread of the crude and its impact on the environment.

    Adande said: “The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of the SPDC Joint Venture (SPDC JV), confirms that its Oil Spill Response Team has identified a leak from one of the SPDC JV assets located in the Obololi community, Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa state.

    “The Team immediately isolated the line and suspended production into the line.

    “The regulatory authorities and other stakeholders have been notified. Plan to conduct a regulator led Joint Investigation Visit (JIV), to determine the cause and impact of the spill is ongoing.”

    Although the SPDC did not specify the volume of oil production affected by the shutdown, the 16 inch pipeline evacuates oil produced from various oil fields within Bayelsa swamps and feeds the SPDC’s manifold in Kolo.

    The NOSDRA DG,  on Thursday said that the cause of the leak and estimated volume discharged was yet to be determined because the pipeline was beneath the river.

    The regulator said that it has recommended a diversion of the river to a temporary dam to give access to the joint investigating team to the leak point for examination.

    Recalled that following the contamination of the Nun River, Chief Target Segibo, Chairman of Southern Ijaw LGA, who earlier visited the impacted Obololi community pledged to provide alternative water source for the people.

    NAN

  • Bayelsa mourns as ex- President Jonathan’s ADC, Jitoboh dies at 54

    Bayelsa mourns as ex- President Jonathan’s ADC, Jitoboh dies at 54

    DIG Moses Jitoboh Former Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Moses Jitoboh, has passed away.

    Jitoboh, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police from Bayelsa state, served as ADC to Jonathan during his tenure as Vice President under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua from 2007 to 2010.

    The former police chief died on Friday morning at Garki General Hospital in Abuja due to blood clots in his lungs.

    Mr. Jitoboh’s career in the police force came to an abrupt end following his compulsory retirement after the appointment of the current Inspector General of Police.

    He subsequently approached the National Industrial Court in Abuja, alleging that he had been forced out of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

    Commiserating with his family and the people of Bayelsa state, the command’a spokesperson, Emonena Gunn in a statement said, “His contributions to the Nigeria Police Force, dedication to service and integrity can never be forgotten, as before his retirement in 2023, he was DIG in-charge of the Department of Research and Planning, and also served as DIG Department of Information & Communications Technology (ICT), Force Headquarters.

    “The passing of DIG Moses Ambakina Jituboh is a great loss, not only to the immediate family but to the entire Bayelsa State, Nigeria Police Force and the nation at large.

    “It is our prayer that God will give the immediate family the strength to bear the irreplaceable loss of your beloved son,” Gunn said.

  • Diri approves N300,000 grant for Bayelsa law school students

    Diri approves N300,000 grant for Bayelsa law school students

    Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri has approved the payment of N300,000 each to students from the state in all the law school campuses in Nigeria.

    Diri said this at a meeting with representatives of the Bayelsa State Law Graduates Forum on Saturday in Yenagoa.

    The governor was represented at the meeting by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo, SAN.

    Dambo said the approval reflected the governor’s commitment to the education of Bayelsans and would cushion the effect of current economic hardship on the students.

    The commissioner, who stated that the grant would aid their academic pursuit and improve their welfare, urged them to focus on their academic work in order to make the state and their families proud.

    Speaking on behalf of the students, Annabel Godspower, expressed their profound gratitude to the governor for approving the grant, saying the gesture was very encouraging.

    She expressed appreciation to the governor for his commitment to the educational pursuit of Bayelsans as well as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice for facilitating the process. (

  • Diri approves N80,000 new minimum wage for Bayelsa workers

    Diri approves N80,000 new minimum wage for Bayelsa workers

    Gov. Douye Diri, of Bayelsa, has approved N80,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the state’s civil service with effect from November 1.

    Diri also approved an increase in the monthly pension of retired workers as well as N7 billion to reduce outstanding gratuity liabilities.

    This is contained in a statement  issued on Sunday, by Daniel Alabrah, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor.

    He said Diri acknowledged the challenging times workers face in the state due to the rise in the cost of living.

    He said  the related consequential adjustments for the various sectors, as agreed with the leadership of labour in the state, would also be implemented.

    The statement read: “to address the harsh times and in line with the National Minimum Wage (Amendment Act 2024), the Prosperity Administration of governor Douye Diri has approved the sum of N80,000 as minimum wage for the state’s workers

    “Gov. Diri also approved an increase in the monthly pension of state retirees.

    “To further ameliorate the challenges of our retired senior citizens, His Excellency also approved the payment and reduction of the outstanding gratuity liabilities by Seven Billion Naira.”

    He said the governor appreciated the workers and their leadership for their understanding, patience and commitment to the policies and programmes of the administration.

  • JUST IN: Fuel tanker explodes in Bayelsa

    JUST IN: Fuel tanker explodes in Bayelsa

    A tanker laden with gasoline on Sunday exploded at the Mbiama-Yenagoa Road, specifically at Akenfa-3 in Bayelsa State.

    The explosion occurred at 1.30 p.m.

    Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the state police command, Musa Mohammed, in a statement on Sunday said there is no cause for alarm, as no lives were lost.

    According to Mohammed, the tanker was leaking, and some passers-by drew the driver’s attention to the leakage before it erupted in flames.

    The tanker and a tricycle, popularly called Keke, were burnt.

    He said the police command and the Federal Fire Service swiftly responded to contain the situation and ensure severyone’s safety.

  • Bayelsa Govt threatens to dismiss truant public servants

    Bayelsa Govt threatens to dismiss truant public servants

    The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, Mr Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has warned public servants  to take their duties seriously or face sanctions, including dismissal.

    He gave the warning while receiving a report from the Teachers Redistribution Committee headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr Irorodamie Komonibo, at the Government House on Thursday in Yenagoa.

    The committee, set up by the deputy governor was saddled with the responsibility of collecting, sorting and analysing available data with a view to equitably distributing teachers to all public primary schools across the eight local government areas.

    Ewhrudjakpo, who described teaching as a serious business that required commitment and dedication, noted that government would not hesitate to deal decisively with truant and unserious teachers.

    He stressed that a situation where government employees refuse to go to work with impunity, but draw their monthly salaries without any hindrance was counter-productive and anti-development.

    Ewhrudjakpo emphasized the need for workers to embrace accountability and commitment to duty.

    His words: “Now that this report is out, I will meet with the various schools and community leaders, possibly ward by ward and hand over the list of teachers posted to them. They have to monitor the teachers.

    “If any of them don’t come to work for 15 days without any justifiable reason, he or she will not have salary for that month. If you don’t come for 3 months, we sack you.

    “We can’t continue this way believing that accountability is meant for the governor and deputy governor alone to observe and apply.

    “We must know that society is not built by the efforts of the leaders alone. It is also built by the efforts of the followers,” he said.

    The deputy governor, who expressed gratitude to the committee for doing a thorough job, said the report had justified his belief that the Bayelsa public primary school system was mainly suffering from lopsidedness.

    He assured that the present administration would implement all the relevant and necessary recommendations contained in the committee’s report to enable the state government achieve its set goals in the education sector.

    Komonibo advised the state government to formulate and adopt a uniform nominal roll to be used by all public primary schools in Bayelsa.

    According to the committee, it has already provided a standard and reliable format of nominal roll for schools to ease the processes for future teacher redistribution and verification exercises.

    The Committee also stressed the need for government to closely monitor the incidences of frequent teacher attrition to address the problem of inequitable distribution of teachers.

    According to the report, out of a total of 4,037 teachers available for redistribution found in the nominal rolls of schools as at May 2024; 2,405 were retained in their current schools.

    “About 966 were redistributed to schools within the LGAs they teach, while 666 were moved to other LGAs that need them.

    “There is need to train officers working in education organs to be abreast with the intricacies of posting.

    “Redistribution and reassignment of teachers to ensure equity and fairness to enhance adequate and effective utilization of teachers in schools.

    “Service records of all teachers should be updated to avoid errors. To achieve this, a comprehensive re-verification of all public primary school teachers is recommended for immediate action,” the committee added.

    The Assistant Secretary of the Committee, Dr Stella Ugolo, appealed to government to ensure that appointment and posting of head teachers was done by the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to correct existing anomalies.

  • Supreme Court upholds Diri’s re-election as Bayelsa gov

    Supreme Court upholds Diri’s re-election as Bayelsa gov

    The Supreme Court  on Friday upheld the re-election of Sen. Douye Diri as the governor of Bayelsa.

    The apex court in a judgment, dismissed the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC, Timipre Sylvia and his party.

    The lead judgment delivered by Justice Garba Lawal, held that the appeal by Sylvia and APC was not only lacking merit but a gross abuse of court process.

    The unanimous decision of the apex court upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and the Election Petition Tribunal.

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja had, on July 18, affirmed the re-election victory of Gov. Diri of Bayelsa in the Nov. 11, 2023 governorship poll.

    The three-member panel of justices led by Justice James Abundaga, in a unanimous judgment, held that the appeal filed by the appellants; Mr Timipre Sylva and the All Progressives Congress (APC), lacked merit.

    The panel held that the tribunal was not in error when it struck several paragraphs of the petitioner’s reply against the governor’s election.

    NAN reports that the election tribunal had, on May 27, dismissed the petition filed by Sylva and APC.

    The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye-led, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.

    In a unanimous decision, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to adduce credible evidence to substantiate their allegations against the outcome of the state’s governorship poll.

    It struck out all the additional proof of evidence and statements on oath of some of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners as incompetent.

    According to the tribunal, the law expressly provided that an election petition must be filed no later than 21 days after the election result was declared.

  • Commotion as Supreme Court delivers judgment in Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi governorship election dispute

    Commotion as Supreme Court delivers judgment in Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi governorship election dispute

    There was commotion at the Supreme Court on Friday as the apex court delivers judgment in the governorship election disputes in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi.

    The court had fixed today, Aug. 23 for the final judgment of the Nov. 11, 2023 governorship poll conducted in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    However, lawyers, litigants, journalists and supporters of different candidates found it difficult to access the courtroom as police officers and private security guards from Halogen Security, restrained everyone from going into the courtroom.

    NAN reports that at about 1pm, accessing the court had become difficult as many journalists were denied entrance into the courtroom.

    The development resulted in commotion at the premises of the court as supporters of candidates in the elections struggle to have access into the courtroom at all cost.

    A five-member panel of the court is presided over by Justice Garba Lawal.

    The panel is to is deliver judgment in the petitions filed by the APC governorship candidate in Bayelsa, Timipre Sylva; PDP candidate in Imo, Samuel Anyanwu and Murtala Ajaka of Social Democratic Party (SDP)’s candidate in Kogi by 2pm.

    They are challenging the election  victory of Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa (PDP); Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo (APC) and Gov. Usman Ododo of Kogi (APC) respectively.