TheNewsGuru

Tag: dickson

  • Bayelsa guber: Dickson sacks Special Adviser over running mate crisis

    Bayelsa guber: Dickson sacks Special Adviser over running mate crisis

    The Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson has dismissed Mrs. Helen Bob, as a Special Adviser in his administration.

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, said that Bob was dismissed for repeated acts of gross misconduct, indiscipline, irresponsibility and acts unbecoming of a person occupying the high position of Special Adviser in any government whatsoever.

    Soriwei said that Bob, who was a governor’s aide for almost eight years, was among 130 special advisers out of over 2000 appointees engaged by the governor.

    It was gathered that the development was in connection with Bob’s recent public outburst over Dickson’s choice of candidate and running mate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the November 16 governorship election.

    Bob had condemned some decisions taken by the governor describing them as recipes for failures in the election and saying she was ready to be relieved of her post in the government.

    Bob, who was former Chairperson of Brass Local Government Area, particularly expresses her angst over governor’s choice of Senator Lawrence Ewrujakpor as the party’s running mate.

    She also described a stakeholders’ meeting proposed by the governor to seek possible substitution of Erwujakpor as unnecessary since according to her the governor had the knife and the yam.

    She said: “For me, there is no need calling stakeholders to hear governor’s briefing as usual because they may not be given opportunity to speak out their minds. Even if they do, their opinions will never count because of our past experiences.

    “We all recalled how three aspirants emerged from him to speak for a Restoration political family and the entire PDP. Not even the party leadership could call a meeting to discuss the way forward but strongly supported the governor to ensure one of them won the PDP ticket while others were disgraced.

    “He may be the last PDP governor if he doesn’t fix all these disheartening issues that have clouded our dear PDP. The governor is a very intelligent and experienced personality that knows what best to do at the right time.

    “He need not any stakeholders meeting to fix the party back to the way it used to win general elections. Since 2015 that the model of choosing who bears the PDP flags in state House of Assembly, House of Reps and Senate seats changed to imposition of candidates due to favouritism, family and friends, we have lost more seats than ever.

    “With all due respect my boss, the truth is bitter but I have to state it here clearly that this imposition of candidates is an unpopular and old school kind of party primary model that is why we lost those seats to the APC.

    “Frankly speaking, even those who are close with you are only there to ensure there salaries read hence will never tell you the truth. Please take a good decision yourself as you have always done to fix all the collapsing walls of the party as no stakeholders have any role to play at this point”.

  • Bayelsa guber: PDP candidate, Diri rejects ‘Dickson’s stooge’ title

    Bayelsa guber: PDP candidate, Diri rejects ‘Dickson’s stooge’ title

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the November 16 gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has dismissed insinuations that he is a stooge of the outgoing governor, Seriake Dickson as totally false.

    The governorship hopeful also underscored the need for peace in the rank of the 20 PDP aspirants he defeated to emerge the party’s flag bearer for the election.

    Diri, who spoke in Abuja, insisted that the insinuation that he would be a stooge to cover up for the incumbent governor of state does not add up.

    He said: “When people say you will be a stooge to cover up, I can tell you that there is practically nothing to cover up.

    “The resources that came to the state were used for the development of the state.

    “With what I saw and I participated in allocating to the ministries, departments and agencies in the state there is nothing to cover up for anybody.

    “We sat together with the governor to allocate what comes to the state. There is nothing to cover up.”

    He added that the question of being a stooge does not arise because he had always been a man of his own.

    The PDP candidate noted that he would make education and further growth of the economy of the state the corner stone of his administration if elected.

    Diri said that he would continue with education which Dickson made one of the policy thrust of his administration.

    He said: “If we are among the first five in education in the country, we will push to ensure that Bayelsa State becomes the first or second bests state in education in the country.”

    He noted that he would build on the solid economic foundation laid by the outgoing administration in the state.

    On how he emerged PDP candidate, Diri said that he was not really the winner but the party.

    He appealed to 20 other aspirants who lost the primary election to join hands with him to deliver the state to PDP.

    According to him: “No matter how bitter anybody may be, we should team up and join hands together to work for our party in the interest of the PDP and our state.”

    The governorship candidate, who recognised that a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Ndutimi Alaibe “is a factor in the state” noted that they were reaching out to all stakeholders to calm frayed nerves.

    Alaibe was one of the 21 PDP aspirants that contested the primary election

    He said: “We are calling them, we are moving to them, we are also using their friends and brothers to appeal to them for us to work together. We are not there yet but I believe we will consolidate.”

    He said that many of those who lost the primary election have assured that they would not go to another party.

    “We are not there yet. We need to get the 20 of them for us to work together to win the election,” he said.

    Talking specifically about Alaibe he said, “I worked with him for many years. Alaibe and I are from the same local government. We worked together. I agree with you that he is a factor.

    “Everybody in the race was there to win. We are talking. We are engaging our brothers at home for us to work together.”

    Diri noted: “If we have free and fair election APC will not win counsellorship election in Bayelsa State because APC is no where in the state.”

    On his relationship with former President Goodluck Jonathan, he said that anybody could claim that the former president is with him.

    For him, it is only at the point of voting that you know who is where.

    To those who describe him as an underdog, he noted that people should not forget that he just won a senatorial election in the state.

    He said: “I like when people underrate me. When people stay in Abuja and Port Harcourt and rant let them rant. I want to be an underdog but the election will decide who is underdog.”

  • Bayelsa guber: I have no preferred candidate – Dickson

    Bayelsa guber: I have no preferred candidate – Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has insisted that he had no preferred candidate for the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.
    Dickson in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, called on Bayelsans to discountenance aspirants claiming to have his endorsement.
    The governor said that he would commence intensified consultations with aspirants and critical stakeholders at the national and state levels of the PDP following the conclusion of the sale of the gubernatorial nomination forms for the next election.
    Dickson also promised to work closely with the party leadership to ensure the conduct of credible, free and fair primaries in Bayelsa.
    He said while the aspirants, who picked the party’s nomination reserved the right to pursue their ambition, the leadership of the party would watch and monitor the buildup to primaries.
    He said he remained committed to his earlier stance that there was no anointed aspirant in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.
    He said: “Now that the collection of gubernatorial forms have ended, the leadership of the party in the state wishes to say that there is no anointed aspirant against the practice in those states where outgoing governors endorse one single aspirant.
    “I decided to open the state for people in my government,my team and other members of the party who have interest to indicate their interest I promise the state that there would be no imposition so would it be.
    “The aspirants who have bought firms have the right to express their ambition but the state leadership òf the party should watch keenly. I am following the comments and making observations and in appropriate cases making consultations.
    “Now that the end of purchase of forms have come, I will intensify consultations both with aspirants, party leaders and other stakeholders
    “And at the end of the day, I intend to work with the party at the national and state levels to ensure that there is a free and fair election. Those using my name should be disregarded, it is not true, I have not endorsed anybody yet”.

  • Dickson appoints new acting Chairman for Bayelsa Electoral Commission

    Dickson appoints new acting Chairman for Bayelsa Electoral Commission

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has appointed Remember Ogbe as acting Chairman of the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC).

    The governor charged members of the commission to conduct free, fair and peaceful local government poll that would be acceptable to all.

    A statement by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei quoted the governor to have spoken during the swearing-in ceremony of two members of the State Independent Electoral Commission in Yenagoa.

    The new members are Charles Emmanuel, a former member of the State House of Assembly representing Brass Constituency One and one Perebigha Ajoko.

    Dickson said the local government election scheduled to hold in September this year should be conducted in a manner that would reflect the wishes of the electorate.

    He noted that Ogbe was appointed acting chairman of the Commission pending a decision on the issue of the nomination of the chairman designate of the BYSIEC.

    He expressed confidence in the capability of the new members of the Commission to effectively oversee the affairs of the commission given their track record in their previous assignments.

    Dickson also urged political parties and their candidates to abide by the outcome of the election.

    He said: “I congratulate the two members of the commission who have been sworn in today. You are appointed to fill in vacancies that emanated from the resignation of some members. You are selected because of your capacity and experience.

    “I urge you to do what is right and fair and carry out your duties in a manner that would engender trust and confidence. You should be prepared to conduct free, fair and credible elections.

    “I have listened to some of the concerns expressed on the position of the Chairman designate. That is why he is not taking his office.

    “I call on the commission to carry out their duties in a way that would engender confidence. Let the elections be free and fair, and let the wishes of Bayelsans be respect. We are giving you free hand and every party should abide by the outcome of the elections”.

  • PDP governors ready to pay N30,000 minimum wage – Dickson

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors have expressed their readiness to pay the N30,000 minimum wage recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
    The Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, disclosed while speaking with newsmen at the end of the forum’s meeting which ended in the early hours of Friday in Abuja.
    Dickson said that the governors were ready to pay the new minimum wage in order to alleviate the plight of workers in PDP-controlled states.
    He called on President Buhari to expedite the process for the commencement of the payment of the new minimum wage by sending a bill to the incoming ninth National Assembly to review the revenue sharing formula of the country.
    “We are very eager as PDP governors to implement and pay the 30,000 naira minimum wage that the federal government announced.
    “We want to do so to alleviate the plight of the long suffering Nigeria workers who have been under paid for long and the workers who are currently groaning in economic hardship as a result of what has gone wrong with the economy since the All Progressives Congress (APC) government took over.
    “So, we call on the federal government to expedite the process of presenting a bill to that effect.
    “Also we call for a review of the revenue sharing formula to accommodate a fresh Revenue Allocation Formula in the country,” he said.
    Dickson also said that no PDP governor was involved in the alleged diversion of local government money, adding that PDP states “do not indulge in such reprehensible conducts”.
    He called on the Federal Government to name the states involved in the act and the period covered.
    “We dealt with the allegation of alleged diversion of local government funds by state governments and we condemned it in very strong term.
    “We as governors on the platform of the PDP want to make it clear that no PDP governor is involved in this allegation of diverting local government funds for whatever purpose.
    “In our case, the reverse is the case. It is the state governments that have been supporting and subsidizing funding for the local government.
    “So we call on the federal government and agency in charge to name the state governments and tell us the date and the people who were in charged as the time when this diversion took place,” he said.
    Dickson, on behalf of the opposition governors, expressed concern over the alleged politicisation of security apparatus by the federal government, especially in states not controlled by APC.
    He said that such supported the growing call for the establishment of State Police as a response to the worsening security situation across the nation.
    “We believe also that this is the reason for the wide spread insecurity.
    “So we will take some of this issues up when we interact with the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, by tomorrow or whenever we see him,” he stated.
    The forum condemned the shut down and suspension of the operating licence of DAAR Communications Plc by the National Broadcasting Commission, describing it as an act of intolerance and repression against the media.
    “As you are aware DAAR Communications we understand has been closed down.
    “Our position is that due process must be followed. If there are any allegation of infraction, then due processes of the law should take place.
    ” When you short down news outlet, when you harass and intimidate journalists, then you are shutting down Nigerians from speaking their minds. And in democracy, freedom of expression is cardinal component.
    “So we condemn what has taken place and we urge the federal government and its agency to forthwith, do what is right, that is reopen the company and follow the due process of the law,” Dickson said.
    He called on all men of good conscience to condemn the act in what he described as a brazen act in defense of democracy.
    Dickson congratulated the PDP over its impressive outing at the last General Elections, as well as all PDP returning and new Governors who emerged victorious in the last gubernatorial elections.
    “We equally and specially congratulate all our out-gone Governors who successfully and in golden colours concluded their second-term tenures in office.
    “We congratulate all our National Assembly Members both returning and incoming,” he added.
    He also commended the Judiciary for exhibiting uncommon courage and professionalism in the discharge of their responsibilities despite the difficult circumstances.
  • Bayelsa poll: I’ll hand over to another PDP governor – Dickson boasts

    Bayelsa poll: I’ll hand over to another PDP governor – Dickson boasts

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, on Wednesday boasted that he would hand over to another Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the November governorship election.

    The governor said with the support of leaders of the state he would lead the PDP to victory at the coming poll.

    Dickson spoke at PDP stakeholders meeting in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    A statement by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei quoted the governor as advising the PDP governorship aspirants to play opposition politics rather than scheming and causing divisions in their own party.

    Dickson reminded the people that, the last election showed how the Federal Government deployed its might to undermine the security of the state in favour of their party members.

    He urged the PDP aspirants seeking elective positions in the forthcoming local government council and governorship poll to embark on massive mobilization of people across the communities to achieve victory for the party.

    According to the governor, the PDP aspirants had a better platform to contest elections and should campaign on the strength of the party’s landmark achievements in the state.

    The government stressed that the PDP was the only political party with the popularity and strength to win free, fair and credible election in Bayelsa State.

    The Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum cautioned that the Guber election in Bayelsa would be a class of two systems, the PDP and its massive supporters in the various constituencies and communities and the APC, backed by Federal forces to attempt to wrest political control.

    He urged the people to resist any attempt by cultists as political to return to power in Bayelsa to retard the process of growth in the state.

    He said: “Another PDP Gov will be elected in the next election. urge all the people to step into the communities and mobilize the people. It will be my pleasure to lead the PDP with your support so that another PDP governor will be elected.

    “How we survived during the 2015 governorship election is by the grace of God and our mobilization skills. You now have people who know how to play opposition politics. As we begin the transition programme, we expect you to put on the toga of an opposition person.

    “You have a lot of work to do. It is their work to sow seeds of discord but it’s your job to keep your party united, strong and stable.”

  • JUST IN: Dickson rejects life pension bill for Bayelsa lawmakers

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has withdrawn his assent on controversial bill passed by state House of Assembly seeking life pension for lawmakers.

    Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, quoted Dickson as conveying the decision to decline assent to the bill in a letter to the Speaker of the Assembly, Kombowei Benson, on Monday.

    The governor was said to have held consultations with the Assembly members in his country home of Toru-Orua, where he explained his reason for declining assent.

    Iworiso-Markson quoted the governor as saying that the bill was inconsistent with Section 124 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

    Dickson argued that the State Assembly lacked the powers to expand the categories of public servants who should be entitled to pension.

    He said the state was bedeviled with a lot of challenges following low internally generated revenue base and unstable earnings from the oil economy.

    He added that if allowed to become law, Bayelsa would be the only state out of Nigeria’s 36 states to come up with such legislation.

    The governor said that he was guided in the decision by the principle that government should not be for a select class of the privileged in the society, and would not discard it over seven years into his administration.

    He said the lawmakers and indeed the Nigerian populace would attest to the fact that all decisions of his administration were guided by the strong urge to protect the public interest and promote the general good.

    He said: “The provisions of this Bill granting pension to members of Bayelsa State House òf Assembly and the extension of same to former members of the Assembly and Bayelsa indigenes who served in the Old Rivers State House of Assembly, is inconsistent with Section 124 of the Constitution òf the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

    “I am not convinced about the legality of this Billl which seeks to expand the categories of persons entitled to pension.

    “While I agree that the Assembly can adjust the quantum of pension payable to persons entitled to pension, I am not convinced that the House has powers to add to the categories of pensionable public officers.

    “Evidently, there is no record of any other state in this country that has expanded the categories of pensionable public officers to include lawmakers.

    “I do not agree that Bayelsa which is coping with all the myriads of issues and challenges, with our low Internally Generated Revenue base and the unpredictable oil economy, should be the first to initiate this.

    “Honourable members of this Assembly, Bayelsans and other Nigerians following our progress as a government would clearly attest to the fact that my entire public service, actions and decisions are marked by what is in the public interest, particularly the interest of the vulnerable, ordinary people.

    “It is in the service of this category of people that in the last seven years and counting, I have in an unprecedented manner which only history will record and reward, extended the frontiers of the benefits of purposeful democratic governance.

    “It is my philosophy that government should not be for a select few. In the last seven years, my actions and decisions which have sometimes elicited opposition from the elite who have been feeding fat on the resources of our State, have been marked by this singular disposition of mine.

    “And I do not intend at this point to abandon that. Rather I intend to do more and to consolidate on the policies and actions which have been taken to protect the vulnerable.

    “Therefore, I am unable to assent to this bill which in my view aims to expand and consolidate the class interest of a privileged few.”

     

  • Reject life pension for Bayelsa lawmakers, SERAP tells Dickson

    Reject life pension for Bayelsa lawmakers, SERAP tells Dickson

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State urging him to use his “good offices as trustee of the state’s resources, and consistent with your constitutional oath of office, to reject the proposed life pension bill by the leader of the House of Assembly Peter Akpe, and to prevail upon the House to immediately withdraw the self-serving bill.”

    The House had last week passed a bill that would grant life pensions to speakers, deputy speakers and other members. Under the bill, speakers will go home with N500,000 monthly, while deputy speakers will receive N200,000. 24 other members will each get N100,000. The House is seeking life pensions for members similar to those “applicable to former presidents, vice-presidents, governors and deputy governors across the country.”

    But reacting, SERAP said: “Public officials have a legal commitment to discharge a public duty truthfully and faithfully. Should you assent to the bill as proposed, SERAP will institute legal proceedings to challenge the legality of the legislation and ensure full compliance with constitutional provisions and Nigeria’s international anti-corruption obligations.”

    In the letter dated 26 April 2019 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “The bill amounts to an incorrect and improper performance of public functions. It’s clearly an abuse of legislative functions by the lawmakers. Rather than sponsoring bills that would improve access of children in Bayelsa to quality education, the lawmakers are taking advantage of their entrusted public positions to propose a bill to collect large severance benefits.”

    According to the organization: “The lawmakers are clearly the major beneficiaries under the proposed legislation. Therefore, by passing the life pension bill, the lawmakers of Bayelsa State House of Assembly have violated the constitutional and international prohibitions on conflicts of interest.”

    The letter read in part: “The people of Bayelsa would expect you, as their governor, to use your entrusted public office to act in the public interest, including by rejecting the life pension bill and prevailing upon the House of Assembly to immediately drop the bill.”

    “Conflicts of interest as well as perceptions of such conflicts would undermine public confidence in the integrity and honesty of not only the Bayelsa State House of Assembly but also your government, if urgent action is not taken to prevail upon the House to drop the outrageous bill.”

    “SERAP notes that Bayelsa State has in recent years received trillions of Naira from the federation account. Yet, according to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), over 265,000 Nigerian children lack access to basic education in the State. The public funds that would be spent to pay life pensions to the lawmakers could be well used to address the problem of growing rate of out-of-school children in the state.”

    “It is forbidden for any public official including lawmakers to engage in self-dealing, and place him/herself in a position of conflicting interests and to hold incompatible functions or illicitly engage in providing to him/herself emoluments deemed unacceptable, unconstitutional and illegal.”

    “In the Seventh Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended), you commit to strive to ‘preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution, [and not to] allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions’. You also commit to: protect and defend the constitution, and to ‘do right to all manner of people according to law [and to] devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria’.”

    “Constitutional oath of office requires public officials including lawmakers to abstain from all improper acts, including passing the life pension bill, that are inconsistent with the entrusted positions and the overall objectives of the Constitution. We believe that a false oath lacks truth and justice. The oath statements require the oath takers to commit to uphold and defend the Constitution.”

    “Under the bill, former lawmakers, including persons of Bayelsa origin who served in the old Rivers State, would enjoy life pensions for ‘their services’ in the state as applicable to former presidents, vice-presidents, governors and deputy governors across the country.”

    “It is estimated that hundreds of lawmakers will benefit from the life pension proposed legislation, which will invariably cost Bayelsa State at least N20 million taxpayers’ money monthly. This amount will increase in subsequent years.”

    “SERAP believes that the action by the lawmakers is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the object and purpose of the UN Convention against Corruption, to which Nigeria is a state party and which implicitly prohibits large severance benefits for public officials such as members of Bayelsa State House of Assembly.”

    “The convention, which is binding on all states of the federation, specifically in paragraph 1 of article 8 requires the lawmakers to promote integrity, honesty and responsibility in the management of public resources.”

  • Dickson inaugurates committees to probe activities of PDP leaders, aides in 2019 elections

    Ahead of the November 2nd governorship election, the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, at the weekend, inaugurated committees to investigate the activities of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders and his appointed aides at the just-concluded general elections in the state.

    It was gathered that the party leaders, commissioners and other aides were apprehensive following the insistence of Dickson that they must render accounts of their actions in the last elections.

    But the governor while inaugurating the panels christened Stock Taking Committees at the Government House, Yenagoa, said they were not designed to enforce discipline in the party adding that issues of sanctions remained the exclusive preserve of the PDP leadership.

    Dickson, who was represented by his Deputy and Central Chairman of the committees, Rear Admiral John Jonah, said: “These committees are to evaluate the performances and roles played by party leaders and government appointees in the last election in the state and ensure the enforcement of operation deliver your units.

    “The assignment given to the committees is not aimed at enforcing discipline in the party. Issues of discipline are exclusive preserve of the party leadership.

    “All party members, appointees of restoration government are directed to cooperate fully with the committees, the results of various units will be submitted to the party chairman by the Secretary to PDP”.

    The governor charged the committees to be fair to all members and to avoid looking at their assignments as opportunities to settle old scores.

    He gave them seven days to submit their reports and urged them to get all required materials from the party leadership.

    Addressing the committees, he said: “You are working for the interest of the party. So, if you make mistakes in some places we will correct you.

    “Go with open mind and your report will be submitted in the central working committee within seven days or one working week and we expect you to get everything needed for your work through the party”.

    The committees were inaugurated in each local government area with Brass, Kolokuma-Opokuma, Ogbia, Ekeremor and Sagbama having six members each.

    While committee in Nembe Local Government Area comprised eight members, those of Southern Ijaw and Yenagoa have seven members each.

    In his response, the Chairman of Brass Committee, Sam Ateke, described the assignment as very important saying it was aimed at repositioning the party ahead of the election.

    He said: “The committee at the central level chaired by the deputy governor himself indeed shows the importance that is attached to the job expected to be done.

    “In that case we that are appointed as chairmen and members thank the governor for finding us worthy to be appointed to serve at these levels.

    “I want to on behalf of my colleagues say that we understand the intentions of the party and we know the importance attached to it.

    “PDP at state level wants to do everything possible to see that we have gone through one election by the grace of God and we have done well. We are going to face another election and we need to reposition the party”.

  • Dickson lifts embargo on promotion of civil servants

    Dickson lifts embargo on promotion of civil servants

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson has given civil servants in the state a special gift ahead of workers’ day celebration following his decision to lift embargo on implementation of promotions in the service.

    Dickson directed immediate implementation and payment of pending promotion benefits and accumulated arrears to all workers.

    Speaking at a meeting with labour leaders in the state, Dickson also approved the spread of the payment to the end of the tenure of his administration.

    The State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson who disclosed this said the governor further informed the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) of the decision of his government to conduct a special interview for the employment of teachers in the state.

    Iworiso-Markson explained that as a laudable initiative, local government councils would be encouraged to implement the decisions as regards their workers.

    Confirming the development to journalists after the meeting, the labour leaders thanked the governor for lifting the embargo and directing the implementation and payment of promotion arrears before the end of his tenure.

    They thanked the governor for the ongoing Labour House project and commended him for always consulting and engaging them before taking any decision affecting them in the state.

    The labour leaders described Dickson as the most labour-friendly governor who had engaged labour more than any other leader and always placed the welfare and wellbeing of workers as a top priority.