There are a few idiomatic expressions around the Catholic Church and the Pope. And that is because the Catholic institutions have endured long enough to constitute part of global folklores. For instance, when cause and reaction are disproportional, there is a description for it that touches on Catholicism and the Pontiff.
This is when the man or woman involved is advised not to be more Catholic than the Pope. Listeners will understand at once that the fellow is seeking to be more concerned than he or she that is actually concerned in the matter under review.
The Pope is also called His Holiness (H.H). This is more so in Catholic protocols. Acting holier than the Pope is when you get involved more than it is necessary. That is, when you crave for more than a supporting role in a plot where you are not the main character.
In Queen’s English, now King’s English, It will be said that you are crying more than the bereaved. In the street, you will be advised to stop swallowing panadol (a brand of paracetamol) on another man’s headache. You are also the type that lawyers call busy body, interloper par excellence, even if you have a pure intention to be your brother’s keeper.
All of these descriptions had applied to one man for merely talking where the main men concerned were conspiratorially silent. He is Henry Seriake Dickson, the immediate past Governor of Bayelsa State who now represents Bayelsa West in the Senate.
He pointed out, when nobody told him to do so, the missing part in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 57-paragraph Presidential Speech on Democracy Day; June 12. That could pass for count one on the charge sheet. Count two was that Dickson burst the existing lines of political delineations and representations to do the business of Rivers State in the Ninth National Assembly.
Nobody hired him in the Senate to do so. He is in the Senate to do the business of Bayelsa West and at most, Bayelsa State and he should be so guided. Count three was that he said what was not meant to be said on that special day of celebrating democracy in Nigeria. Finally, if counts two and three are taken together, it produces a summary count of a busy body saying the wrong thing at the wrong moment and to the wrong people.
Let’s go straight to the point. Dickson was saying that on a Democracy Day, PBAT spoke as if Rivers State was not part of the ongoing democracy. He was particularly pained that the executive arm chose that same day of all days, to present an expenditure template of the Rivers State Government for legislative approval.
BAT who is the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has also been the Governor of Rivers State, albeit by proxy, since March 18 this year. That was the day that Tinubu forgot that he is a democratically elected president and became Emperor Tinubu.
He pulled down democracy in Rivers State and thereafter, named the power-stripped state a vassal of Aso Rock Villa, Abuja to be governed by an appointed agent. The Governor, Similaye Fubura and members of the State House of Assembly were given a job stood-off for six months in the first instance. Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ekwe Ibas (rtd) from Cross River State has been managing the outpost on behalf of the Presidency since then.
The thinking, which Dickson keyed into, was that PBAT would use the occasion of the June 12 memorial to also remember that he is a democrat after all and needed to do something nice and remarkable to underscore that claim.
Just any statement to reappraise the situation in Rivers State would have suffice. That wasn’t too much to hope for on a Democracy Day. But nothing happened. Hopes were hopelessly dashed. Outside Bayelsa State, the rest of the South-South geo-political zone is an APC colony.
None of the many foot soldiers of the party in the zone had the presence of mind to whisper in the ears of the President that it was a democracy day and a line or two to address the embarrassment in Rivers State would not hurt. As it were, their loyalty to the Tinubu and APC brand of politics was too rigid to compel a counter narrative.
Dickson only entered, when none in the entire region, including persons that are more concerned, had the balls to call the roaring Goliath to order. They were all part of the cheering crowd of President Tinubu as he spread in victory like peacock.
He explained why intimidation is part of good politics. He actually said it pleases him to see the opposition “in disarray.” That statement can be rephrased to read: ‘’it pleases President Tinubu to cause disarray in the opposition” and nothing would be missing. As at today, the main business of opposition parties is to work tirelessly to resolve unending divisions in their ranks.
The problem is made even more complex by the attitude of some elements in the opposition who appear more interested in the political wellbeing of President Tinubu than persons in the ruling APC.
That was how Dickson got to be home alone with the Devil. I guess also that he didn’t have lofty ideas about the outcomes of his bold outing. He only needed to say something contrary so that it would not look like there was a unanimous legislative approval of Tinubu’s Democracy Day outing.
There is room for this kind of subtle rebellion in civil and human rights movements. It is called righteous indignation. It means the right to be angry, to be deviant, even in the face existential threats. That was what Dickson did on that day. While it may not translate to real relief or a change of the contentious conditions, it nevertheless offers a catharsis that improves the mental health of the oppressed.
This is what Dickson tries to do each time he assumes the floor to speak in the Red Chamber. He insists that the right of the majority to have its way should not in anyway, vitiate the right of the minority to have its say. He wants the eagle and the kite to perch anyhow.
But he struggles so hard to make this simple point any time he comes on air. The ground on which he stands to speak is no longer holy and his voice does not get to the only god of politics in Nigeria. Tinubu does not hear anybody who stands on the PDP platform to speak.
The PDP is very close to extinction as the APC remains unrelenting in its onslaught. The party has been pushed below an underdog in the game and it is going underneath to clear the ring for a maximum champion. Totalitarianism is usually by evolution. While the PDP gasps for oxygen, the APC has strengthened into a cult where non-members are sacrificed at will for the well-being of the confraternity.
As always, the road to damnation is straightforward and attractive. The ugly side takes all the time to manifest at destination. It is this same attraction that has caused the Rivers State caucus in the National Assembly to curse Senator Dickson. Speaking on behalf of the caucus, House of Reps Member, Kingsley Ogundu Chinda told Senator Dickson in very clear tone to stay off the affairs of Rivers State. He sounded as if Dickson, an Ijaw from sister Bayelsa State, is as distant as a Senator from Borno or Sokoto State. Chinda represents Obio Akpor Federal Constituency in Rivers State.
He is from the same constituency and local government council with former governor of the state now FCT Minister, Nysome Wike. There is more between them. He was the legal adviser (whatever that means) of Obio Akpor local government council when Wike was the Chairman. He was the Rivers State Commissioner of Environment between 2007 and 2010 and has been in the House since 2011. More or less, he has not substantially lived outside government once. Losing that privilege is a frightening prospect. That is the crux of the matter. It offers the context for a proper interpretation of Chinda’s lines in the matter of the emergency rule in Rivers State.
Hon Chinda explained that every step so far taken in Rivers State by the Presidency is in order. He described the declaration of a state of emergency as a ‘’lawful and constitutional response’’ to a deteriorating political and security situation in the state. He said Dickson portrayal of Rivers State as being under military administration is not only false but intellectually dishonest. He added that the Supreme Court decision of February 28, 2025 was clear in saying Rivers State was without a constitutional government.
No options existed and Chinda spoke as if he was, on behalf of the people of Rivers State, thanking Tinubu for benevolently stepping in with the emergency declaration to prevent the state from a sure descent into anarchy. His verdict on Dickson: “He is not from Rivers. If he wants to stir trouble, let him do so in Bayelsa. We will not allow external actors to destabilise our state.” Senator Allwell Onyesoh representing Bayelsa East added that: “Rivers people deserve stability and governance, not provocation from those who are not even directly affected by the crisis.”
We are getting somewhere. At least, there is agreement among the caucus that controls the narratives that crisis does exist in Rivers State. What is not too clear is the true character of the crisis. The evidence however points more to a moral crisis than it points to a political crisis. It might even be deeper; such as the complete loss of functional spirituality and all sense of propriety that is leading to a wholesale adoption of evil as a mainstay.
Like Muriel, the goat character in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, members of the Rivers Caucus are too fascinated with ribbons and colours to apply their faculties. Comrade Napoleon is always right. The arising benefits from maintaining that position induce an intoxication that is edging them in the wrong direction. Whoever preaches caution is roundly derided. They laugh to scorn the wisdom of elders. They did so to Senator Henry Seriake Dickson. They told him to take his meddlesomeness elsewhere. They gladly point at the grave of their ancestors with their left hands.
The times are good for the caucus. They only need to be reminded that it is only in the grave that darkness lasts forever. On earth, darkness does not last forever. Daylight usually follows darkness. It is not going to be different in Rivers State where there is a very dark overcast currently. Soon and very soon too, it will be daylight in Rivers State and the dark clevages will be exposed.
For now, it is a compelling performance where the actors are having a swell time playing their nefarious roles. There is a ritual that usually attends the end of a stage performance. It is called Curtain Call, when performers re-assume their real life character to break the artistic barrier between the stage and the audience.
We await the Curtain Call in the Rivers high drama. Meanwhile, for seeking to be more Catholic or holier than the Pope and for taking paracetamol on account of some else’s headache, Distinguished Senator Henry Seriake Dickson deserves a gbosaa! He should be encouraged to continue to stand tall among Lilliputians.
Seriously, I didn’t know Seriake Dickson had it in him. At the 60th birthday anniversary lecture for Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the former Bayelsa State governor and serving senator, used bare-knuckle punches at the promoters of the ‘coalition’ to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
“There are a number of you who are expert conspirators, who know how to assemble coalitions and then take over governments — as you did to my party in 2015, particularly targeting a so-called ‘clueless government,’” Dickson said. He was not done. “Now, 11 years down the line, we thought there would be no weaponization of poverty, and that all of Nigeria’s challenges would have been resolved. But here we are, still gathered to bemoan the fate of our country,” he added.
The audience was a stellar cast of the political elites who were once in government, but now out of favour with the ruling team. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Nasir el-Rufai, a one-time Minister of the Federal Capital Territory; Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the birthday boy; Muhammadu Sanusi II, a co-Emir of Kano among others. Apart from Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank, the rest had one thing in common: all shared a common political platform with Tinubu and together worked to install former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and sustained his eight-year tenure in Aso Rock.
Until his direct and pungent hit at Amaechi’s birthday lecture in Abuja, Dickson never came across as a leader that could look his colleagues straight in their eyes and call them “professional conspirators” out at their old game. But, amazingly, he did just that. It brings back memories of the late Niger Delta leader who was the scourge of Nigerian politicians. Has a potential successor to Pa Edwin K. Clark emerged? That is too early to call, but it puts him in the frame.
The clearest picture of Amaechi that comes to mind when thoughts of Niger Delta leadership is the subject is his handling of the process for the take off of the Nigerian Maritime University at Okerenkoko. To the former Rivers governor, the location on an island in Delta State is too far removed from his perception of a worthy place. Appearing before the Senate, Amaechi actually announced that he was killing the project even after over N13 billion had been spent on the site. He told the Senate committee on maritime that the university project was a “misplacement of priority” because there are other transport institutes in the country which could adequately fulfil the purpose of the proposed Okerenkoko university.
It took the chiding of Amaechi by Ibe Kachikwu, then the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and South South leaders for the Senate to ignore Amaechi and pass the bill on the university.
While he was trying to shut down Okerenkoko, Amaechi regaled in telling Nigerians or sections of them how he had to defy leaders of Niger republic to construct a modern railway track from Daura, Buhari’s hometown, to Maradi, the former president’s ancestral home in the francophone country. That was after diverting the rail project to Daura for no apparent economic reasons. And he capped his chicanery by choosing Daura to build his Transport University while deeming Okerenkoko too remote an island for a maritime university.
For a man who from his younger days lived off the resources of government, from eight years as Speaker, another eight as governor and yet more right years as Minister of Transportation, Amaechi was certainly very hungry after two years out in the cold. His assertion that Nigerians are ‘hungry’ was a brilliant choice of word. It resonates with the people as some may even point to it as proof that indeed people have become poorer under Tinubu. Is Amaechi among the hungry people? I believe so. But his hunger is a different genre. At 60 which he celebrated last week, Amaechi, who has spent about 40 of those years living off public resources after his secondary school cannot understand why he should be out of office for two obviously very long years.
He can afford anything and everything he desires. But a crucial element that had been a constant in his life was missing. Power. Not necessarily to wield it for the good of the people. He wanted to be president and was prepared to pay any prize to demonstrate to the people he thought will aid him in getting it that he is loyal. He did all he could to show Buhari that he is loyal to him and that includes shutting down a maritime university in his region while promoting a transportation university in the President’s hometown. He preferred to build a railway line deep into the President’s ancestral place of origin in Niger republic while the no metre of rail was rehabilitated or build in his own South South or neighbouring South east.
With the death of the iconic Niger Delta leader, Pa Clark, there is a vacuum for a credible successor. It may require having a college of successors and there is a cream of possible leaders.
By his very long years of public service manning critical positions, Amaechi would naturally have been a logical contender. Unfortunately, his occasional sound bites are hollow, lacked conviction and had no philosophical road map in the context of Nigeria’s political realities. Nyesom Wike probably knows that, prompting him to derisively give Amaechi’s complaint of hunger a connotative interpretation. Hunger for power, the FCT minister said, is Amaechi’s problem.
For Seriake Dickson, his hit at Amaechi’s 60th birthday was uncharacteristically bold and courageous. In dubbing the coalition partners expert conspirators, he was apparently accusing them of weaponising government’s weaponisation of poverty. Noting that it was a strategy they successfully used in 2015 to oust President Goodluck Jonathan, he wondered what has changed. In admonishing them to ‘shine their eyes’, there was a warning there. Despite the pervading poverty, Nigerians may have seen through the entire scheme and it might not be business as usual in the next election cycle.
There is a certain air of freshness from Dickson. He is by all means one of them, but things cannot remain the same. In the search for a new credible voice for the Niger Delta, he might just be in the reckoning.
Senator Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa West has reaffirmed that the Ijaw Nation is not in conflict with President Bola Tinubu or the Federal Government, amid ongoing political tensions in Rivers State.
The former Bayelsa governor made the statement following a visit to the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, in Port Harcourt on Friday. In a post on his official Facebook page, Dickson said their meeting centered on the “extreme political developments” in the state over recent weeks.
He praised Governor Fubara for his calmness and peaceful conduct in the face of what he described as “unprecedented turbulence” in the state’s political landscape.
While acknowledging the outward peace in Rivers, Dickson warned it could be a fragile calm. “It may very well be the peace of a graveyard, which any little trigger can disrupt,” he said.
The senator appealed to youths across the Ijaw Nation and the wider Niger Delta to remain peaceful and avoid any form of provocation or violence, especially targeting vital oil and gas infrastructure. He cautioned that such actions would only worsen environmental degradation in the region.
Dickson also called on President Tinubu to intervene and encourage dialogue between key stakeholders—particularly Governor Fubara and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike—to find common ground and resolve the crisis.
“I want to emphasize that the Ijaw Nation is not at war with the President or the APC-led Federal Government,” he said. “We continue to advocate for a restructured, truly federal Nigeria with power devolution, environmental justice, and inclusive development.”
He urged leaders from the Niger Delta at both state and national levels to actively participate in peace efforts and support a return to stability and democratic governance in Rivers State.
The Bayelsa government on Wednesday honoured former President Goodluck Jonathan, former governor Seriake Dickson and other prominent donours to the Bayelsa Educational Development Trust Fund (EDTF) as Honorary Ambassadors of Education.
Also honoured were Sen. Emmanuel Paulker, who represented Bayelsa Central for three terms, Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr Ruben Okoya, Hon Fredrick Agbedi.
Others who received the awards include Maj.- Gen Allison Allison and Commissioner of Police, Diseyei Nsirim-Poweigha (Rtd).
The state also empowered some 2,850 beneficiaries of the Diri Skills Acquisition Scheme with start-up kits as part of Gov Douye Diri’s fifth year anniversary celebrations.
Diri, who presented the awards, acknowledged the foresight and courage of his predecessor, in setting up the EDTF to mobilise funds from public servants, political office holders and donor agencies to compliment government funding.
“I salute the courage of my predecessor, former Governor Dickson in conceiving and establishing the EDTF and I am impressed that we have a crop of dedicated and seasoned administrators led by Dr Alice Atuwo.
“This board has been outstanding in sourcing for funding in support of all levels of education in Bayelsa from public spirited individuals from within and outside Bayelsa.
“The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation was amongst the pioneer donours and that is why we are honouring him alongside others for the love and unwavering support for the education of our children,” Diri said.
Responding on behalf of the award recipients, Jonathan who was represented by Dr Tobias James, noted that education remains an indispensable tool for development.
He urged the larger society to support government’s efforts in funding public education at all levels.
Speaking earlier, Executive Secretary of the EDTF, Dr Atuwo applauded Dickson for the idea of attracting funds from outside governments to fund education in the state.
Atuwo also thanked Gov Diri for not only continuing with the policy but expanding it with the introduction of 1,400 boarding school students to the existing boarding schools funded by the EDTF.
Also speaking, Mrs Charity Godwin, Technical Adviser to the Bayelsa Governor on Entrepreneurship noted that the 2,850 beneficiaries were part of over 9,000 who applied for the scheme but 3,000 were selected to start the five month training.
She said that two batches of 800 beneficiaries each had earlier graduated from the scheme and expressed appreciation to the the Bayelsa governor for empowering the beneficiaries to become self-reliant.
She urged the beneficiaries to remain focused to grow their businesses to become employers of labour and to actualise the prosperity mantra of the Diri-led administration.
Diri, had earlier advised the beneficiaries to shun the temptation to sell their start-up kits as they have become ambassadors of his administration.
“I pray that none of you will sell the start-up empowerment you have received today, your businesses shall grow from this humble beginnings, go and ask Dangote, every successful business has a humble beginning,” Diri said.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Precious Jephter expressed appreciation to the state government for the gesture which has uplifted them from unemployment to entrepreneurs who will drive economic development in Bayelsa.
Sen. Seriake Dickson (PDP-Bayelsa West) on Friday described those behind oil theft in the Niger Delta as “big players” who reside outside the region.
The senator made the allegation at Oporoza, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta while visiting the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketepe, Agadagba.
Dickson said although Ijaw youths were tagged to be behind oil theft, they lacked the capacity and technical know-how to understand how pipelines operate.
“Those big players behind the crude oil theft are not from the region but are based in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the world,” he said.
He explained that the Ijaw people were living in the creeks, earning their daily livelihood on the waterways and farmlands when the alleged thieves polluted the land with their nefarious activities.
“We have no means and no capacity to engage in the high-level operations that result in the daily loss of Nigerian crude oil produced from our place.
“Those who have the capacity to compromise and infiltrate the national security system and infiltrate the national petroleum system; those who have the capacity to hire the tankers and shuttle vessels, they are not Ijaws.
“We do not have the capacity to do that! We do not even have the experience to be involved in that kind of operation,” he said.
The legislator, who is also the ex-governor of Bayelsa State said such high-level operations needed a lot of resources, coordination, funding and international networking.
He, however, urged Nigeria to step up her game in the international arena by pushing for the designation of her stolen crude oil.
“Those who, on a daily basis under declare what is produced; those who have refused to properly monitor and record what is produced for over 50 or 60 years should take the blame.
“It is not the Ijaw youth – harmless people without the capacity and without the technical know-how,” he said.
He, however, commended the traditional ruler for ensuring peace in his kingdom and the entire Niger Delta.
Dickson also visited Dr Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, founder of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL).
He commended Ekpemupolo for the wonderful job he had been doing with his private security outfit, TSSNL, to boost the nation’s oil revenue and ensure the regeneration of the region’s ecosystem.
…Nigeria has nothing to effectively show for all the trillions earned for crude oil sales
…what you call an oil Bloc is someone’s ancestral land
…says he’s proud to be a police man
Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson has said the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill, otherwise known as PIB is a lose-lose situation for both Nigeria and investors.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the former Governor while appearing on a monitored national television programme where he declared that the passed PIB as it is does not favour anybody.
TNG recalls that Dickson was one of the lawmakers alongside South South lawmakers who vehemently opposed the miserable 3 percent allocated to oil host communities during the consideration of the harmonised report by both Chambers last week.
He said this is the first time a civilian government is trying to do something about the issue but with what was passed, it’s a lose-lose situation for all.
Reacting on companies coming to invest in oil communities without the enabling laws, Dickson said:
“Are the communities begging you to come and drill their oil and pollute their land, their waters and their seas, they are not.
“You are the one whose survival and national economy is dependent on, the whole economy rest in the oil that is someone’s ancestral land.
“And for God’s sake, you must recognize that these are resources that belong to a people that the Federal Government through legislations under the military, all these legislations which I call expropriatory legislations were enacted by the military not in a democratic dispensation.
“This is the very first time you are trying to legislate on something that should go to them, back and forth agreement and so on, under democracy.
“But all the laws that have taken these resources from the owners, what you call an oil bloc is somebody’s ancestral property in the Niger Delta.
“So you have got to know that you are talking of the owners, what you, Nigeria takes is just an artificial, fictional owner because you are taking it from the people and vested it in yourself”.
On earnings so far on crude oil sales and preparation after oil goes extinct in Nigeria, the former police man noted:
“Is Nigeria aware, is Nigeria preparing for the day after oil? Do you know the trillions and trillions of dollars that has accrued to the Nigerian state from 1958 till now? Or forget about that, in the last one year trillions and trillions of dollars.
“Let me reverse the question to you, is there anything to show that the Nigerian government has been earning that?”
On his former job as a police man, he said: “I am a proud police man and I am still a police man, I even head a sub-committee on policing in the constitutional review committee and we are doing our best with the able leadership of the Deputy Senate President”.
There was mild drama on the floor of the Senate of the National Assembly (NASS) on Tuesday as Senators engaged in war of words over the size and population of some constituencies.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the drama followed the presentation of a Bill for an Act to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Mubi, Adamawa State.
The Bill was sponsored by Sen. Aishatu Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Adamawa.
Drama started when Sen. Seriake Dickson faulted claims by Sen. Dahiru that the population of Mubi was “very much higher than that of Bayelsa’s eight Local Government Areas combined’’.
Dickson, representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, countered Dahiru, arguing that the size of Bayelsa – the physical land mass and the water bodies was three times bigger than some states in the country.
He countered that the sponsor could make her case without reference to Bayelsa.
“In my Senatorial district, it will take me four days to go round. In my local government, Sagbama, it will take me three days to go round.
“I just felt I should rise to enlighten the sponsor of this Bill and by so doing the rest of the country.
“When people talk about population, they should be careful because if you go deep and ask who conducted the census, who verified what and what were counted, who are the residents and how justifiable, you’d shudder,’’ he said.
However, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan interjected and cautioned Dickson against inputting improper motives to the debate.
“Apparently, I have to guide this contribution because you have made your point and, giving our standing orders, we shouldn’t impute improper motives on the submission by our colleagues.
“The discussion is not on the population of Bayelsa or population census conducted before; we should rather concentrate on the main focus, which is on the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre.
“I agree that there are many questions people will like to raise, but I think the essence of this debate is to focus on the general principles and the merits of the Bill,’’ Lawan said.
Notwithstanding, Dickson reiterated his point that “debates and submissions must be based on verifiable facts. Dahiru referred to population figures which are not verifiable. The basis is not explained.
“I only rose to enlighten and contribute without prejudice to the merits or demerits of the Bill; that the factual premise that she has put forward as a reason or one of the reasons why this Bill should be considered is faulty.
“That should be expunged; it should not form part of it because it is not factual; it is incorrect,’’ Dickson said.
While advancing arguments in support of her Bill earlier, Dahiru said Mubi, with a total land mass of 506.4km2 and population of 759, 045, has nine neighbouring local government areas.
“This together with the population of Mubi North makes it 2,089,540 people (very much higher than Bayelsa’s eight Local Government Areas, with a population of 1,704,515).
“Nonetheless, this historic town has suffered from government neglect in terms of federal presence, especially in the area of tertiary healthcare delivery,’’ she said.
The President of the Senate thereafter referred the Bill to the Committee on Health to report back in four weeks.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck out two appeals filed by Sen. Seriake Dickson and the PDP against a suit seeking his disqualification from contesting the concluded Bayelsa West senatorial election.
Dickson is appealing the Court of Appeal ruling which set aside a ruling by the Yenagoa Federal High Court that dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify him from running for the senatorial election.
Justice Mary Odili, who led five-member panel of justices, held that the appeals lacked merit and struck out both appeals after Dickson and PDP lawyers agreed to formally withdraw the appeals.
The apex court agreed with the lawyer to the first respondent (Owoupele Eneoriekumoh), Pius Pius that, having earlier filed a notice of withdrawal, he could no longer take further steps except to withdraw the appeal.
“Once a party files a notice of withdrawal, the only further step such an appellant could take is to formally withdraw the appeal, not to abandon the withdrawal notice and seek to be heard on the same notice of appeal.
Dickson had earlier applied to withdraw the appeal, but later changed his mind and filed a motion, seeking to have the appeal heard.
Also while striking out the appeal by the PDP, the apex court noted that the appellant filed a notice of appeal without specifying the judgment of the Court of Appeal that was being appealed against.
However, the respondents objected the motion, arguing that, having applied to withdraw for whatever reason, he could no longer change his mind.
The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, had on Jan. 7, 2021 ruled that the disqualification suit against Dickson was not statute barred and should be given accelerated hearing by the Federal High Court.
The three-member panel disagreed with the Federal High Court’s decision to dismiss the matter, saying the judgment of the lower court was wrong.
The panel presided over by Justice U. Onyemenam, explained the appeal was based on whether by the provisions of Section of the Electoral Act and Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the originating process of the applicant was statute barred.
He, however, said the suit was filed within 14 days beginning from the publication of the particulars of the candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’’.
Justice Jane Inyang of the Federal High Court Yenagoa had thrown out the suit filed by Owoupele for lack of jurisdiction declaring that the suit was stature barred for being filed after the constitutionally stipulated time to do so.
Owoupele’s lawyers lead by Pius Danba and Ebikebuna Augustine Aluzu had proceeded to the Court of Appeal seeking the court to upturn the verdict of the lower Court.
Embelekpo Apere, a former Senior Special Assistant on Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to the immediate past Bayelsa Governor, Seriake Dickson, has been arraigned by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Apere was arraigned alongside Rollins Amacree, Clever Loveday and a company, Oriazy Global Link Limited before Justice Jane E. Inyang of the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, on 10-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy and procurement fraud worth N864m.
A statement by the EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said the charges were read to the defendants on Thursday.
According to the count three, Apere and Amacree, on or about 2015 and 2016 in Bayelsa State within the jurisdiction of the court, did without soliciting for expression of interest by publishing a notice to that effect in two National newspapers awarded and paid contract worth over N352million to Dekams World Global Nigeria Ltd.
They were alleged to have committed an offence contrary to Section 44 (a) and 45 (2) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and punishable under Section 58(1) of the same Act”.
On count three, Apere and Amacre, were said to have allegedly committed a similar offence within on or about 2015 and 2016 in Bayelsa State while awarding and paying for a contract worth N182million to Ayebomateke & Son’s Ltd and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 44 (a) and 45 (2) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and punishable under Section 58(1) of the same Act.
The statement said the defendants pleaded “not guilty” to the charges adding that the prosecution lawyer, M.T Iko demanded a date for the commencement of trial.
But the lawyers to the first and second defendants, Oyebiyi O and P.J. Fawei and the lawyer to the third and fourth defendants, W. Ogberipou informed the judge that they had already filed bail applications at the court.
But Iko countered the application expressing fears that the defendants could interfere with the prosecution of the case “by threatening witnesses and the prosecution”.
He prayed the court to reject the application and order an accelerated hearing on the matter.
JInyang, however, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N20million each and one surety in like sum, who must be residents within the jurisdiction of the court.
She said all the sureties should depose to an affidavit of means and deposit their original Certificates of Occupancy with the Deputy Court Registrar.
The Judge also ordered that international passports of defendants be handed over to the Registrar of the Court while sureties should be verified by the Investigating Officers.
The matter was adjourned till February 17, 22 and 24, 2021 for hearing.
The statement said the defendants got into trouble by awarding contracts without following due processes.
They allegedly made payments to third parties exceeding N50million without passing through a financial institution, in violation of provisions of the Money Laundering Act.
…it’s the fault of the govt., we have not done well, says Bayelsa’s former Commissioner for Health
…HMB should just shut down the facility, says a concerned doctor
Leaky roofs, damaged ceilings, rusty clinic beds, mushroom theatre, and more dilapidation – is the deplorable state of the Odi General Hospital, where patients, who otherwise should live, would die.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the hospital, located in the Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area of Bayelsa State has been abandoned to rot by the State Government over the years.
The implication of the abandonment is not just that quality healthcare delivery is now far-flung from the people of a whole local government area; people living in the area now have to seek alternatives for healthcare services.
Worse is that, given the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) health crisis ravaging the world today, the people of the area have no first point of call when there is an emergency or when a mere need arises, as findings reveal the hospital is the only general hospital available in the local government area.
By implication also, locals now have to travel hundreds of kilometres to get the littlest of healthcare service. But, there is even worse!
This is Odi General Hospital in Bayelsa State
When TNG reporter visited the Odi General Hospital, the facility was nothing to write home about. The hospital that ideally receives referrals from all the healthcare centres in the local government, making it a very strategic hospital for the people of the area, is nothing, but a shadow.
“In fact, some poultry farms are better than the hospital. At a time we were even trying to see whether the HMB would just shut down the facility,” a staff who spoke under the condition of anonymity told TNG.
When TNG visited the hospital, there was, however, an ambulance on ground. TNG met on a phone call, a medical officer. There was also a uniformed nurse on ground, and two ladies dressed in mufti. There was no single patient on sight in the hospital.
Signpost of the Odi General Hospital
At the first instance, standing in front of the entrance to the hospital, the impression was that there will be nobody in this place. The place looked more like a graveyard, deserted. But, on approach, the ambulance and the officer on a phone call were on sight. Also on sight were dilapidated structures, which were later clarified to be doctors and nurses quarters.
“Please do and discharge me, I am not comfortable here,” a patient told an officer at the hospital who asked not to be named.
The female ward of Odi General Hospital in Bayelsa State
TNG reports this is the same hospital the former Governor of the State, Seriake Dickson had in 2015 while flagging off the 58th edition of the famous Odi Ogori Ba Uge festival of Odi boasted to fix. He promised his administration would completely renovate the hospital to improve healthcare delivery in the area.
However, till date, with Douye Diri as the present Governor of the State, the hospital remains in its sorry state, and continued deterioration, and may remain so, long after Governor Diri has left office.
An officer, who granted an interview, but asked not to be named, narrated from genesis to revelation, how the sorry state of the Odi General Hospital came about.
This is the male ward of Odi General Hospital in Bayelsa State
“This place is the Odi General Hospital,” the officer opened up to TNG after much persuasion. After having to calm down, he said, “Most of the structures are dilapidated. Even our office, where we consult, is dilapidated”.
He went further to say, “this hospital is actually the only general hospital in this local government, that is, this Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area. Ideally, the hospital is supposed to receive referrals from all the health centres in the local government. If the case cannot be managed here, then, we can now refer to the teaching hospital at Okolobiri or FMC in Yenagoa.
“But, because of the dilapidated state of the hospital, the turn out of patients is not encouraging. There is an incident that happened here. A patient was brought from Yenagoa to this place for surgery. Getting to this place, the child looked at the hospital and said he cannot enter this place, that “daddy, are you taking me to this place? I can’t enter this place”. They took the child back, to tell you how bad it is”.
The officer told TNG that the Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area has a large population of people and that if the Odi General Hospital were fully functional, there was a considerable number of qualified personnel to cater for the health needs of the people.
“Then, also, except the accommodation and the state of the hospital, there is really nothing much, because the hospital has almost every hands to function well and compete with any hospital in the State. We have four medical officers, plus another Corper doctor, making five doctors in this place. There are six nurses here; then, the other health workers, then, the pharmacists. The laboratory has two scientists and two Corper scientists, making four laboratory scientists in this hospital.
“So, the place is well equipped in terms of manpower, just that the only challenge is the structure. People are discouraged by what they see. Most times, people wonder at this kind of place, if people are still here. They would say, “If I come here to treat malaria, I will still be attacked by mosquitoes”.
“But because the people have seen that the place is dilapidated, they don’t believe that there are qualified hands here. Because when they pass through the gate, they see the place as an abandoned place. So, they don’t even bother to come here to seek care.
“It is only a few of them, who have come here, and they met doctors and nurses, who attended to them very well, that still have the confidence to continue to come here. Or, once in a while they have financial challenges, they can now tell the person, “why not go to the general hospital, there are doctors there” before the person will now come. And when they come, they are amazed that there are actually health workers on the ground, who are even willing to work any time, any day.
“Some people will even confess to you that, in town, the news is different, that if you come here, there is nobody to attend to you. So, it is justified, because if the place, for example now, there are good structures, like the main hospital now, is renovated, painted, maybe there are walk paths in the hospital, there is a good gate there, by the time you are passing the place, you will know that government presence is here. Let it be as if you come to the hospital and there is nobody to attend to you.
“Maybe when we leave now you will now see what I mean by dilapidated. In one of our wards, the main ward, the ceilings have opened up, that even if you were on admission there, you will be afraid that in the next minute, the ceilings might cave in. So, the reason why sick people rarely patronize this hospital is justified,” the medical officer said.
The ceilings of Odi General Hospital are not better than this
He further told TNG that “the thing is the hospital has been in this condition for long. It is not something that just happened recently. Like these structures, these ones have been dilapidated for some years, from 2012 when they had that flood till now, and even before then, the place was already getting bad. So, over time, the people were already having the conception about this place, that this place is not functioning.
“So, some persons, when they are sick, especially the ones that have relatives outside, who can afford treatment outside, their first point of call is usually outside this place. But if the place is functioning the way it should, the community has a good population, and there are some communities linked to the community, I think they would be bringing in patients. It is only once in a while that we have referrals from health centres. Then, inside the town, there are some medicine dispensing stores where the people rather go to manage their health, but when they see no improvement, that is when they come to the hospital. Aside that one, nothing much”.
The doors leading to sections of the Odi General Hospital are not better than this one.
Some residents of the community, who spoke with TNG, including the king, the Amanyanabo of Odi, HRH King Shine Apre, also told the sorry tales of the Odi General Hospital and its impact on the lives of the people.
According to the Amanyanabo of Odi, “The Odi General Hospital has been abandoned to rot. Our people have no alternative here than to seek healthcare elsewhere and the thing is Odi is far from the main town. We have had a case in which we lost a life before they could take the person to a hospital in Yenagoa. If the Odi hospital is functional as it should be, and that person was taken there first, I am sure the person would not have died”.
The narrative of Richman Dinipre, a member of the community was not different. He said, “The hospital is very bad. The residents and staff quarters, and even the main hospital building are dilapidated. Everything is bad there. All the whole houses, everything is bad. We are suffering because of it. There is nowhere for our people to seek medical care. Because the place is bad, our people go outside to receive treatment ordinarily they could have received at the hospital. People are scared to receive treatment at the hospital, but for someone like me, we still go there because it is our community”.
Also, Nelson Odoni, a pastor in the community lamented the state of the hospital, saying “The State of Odi General Hospital is very poor. No life there. No equipment in that place. I do visit the place to pray for people. People are complaining. The personnel there are trying their best, but you know they need equipment to do the job. People who do go there do not complain of the workers but always complain about the dilapidated structures. Once you go there once, you won’t want to go there the next time because of the nature of structures at the hospital”.
A tour of the facility shows the sorry state of the Odi General Hospital as seen in the video below [PRESS PLAY]:
It’s the fault of the government, we have not done well, says Bayelsa’s former Commissioner for Health
Meanwhile, Bayelsa’s former Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Nicholas Etebu, who is the Acting Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Bayelsa Medical University (BMU), has faulted the State Government over the situation of the Odi General Hospital.
While speaking to TNG on some factors that contributed to the disintegration of most of the structures of the hospital, the former Commissioner for Health said, the State Government failed to release funds needed to change the fortune of the hospital. He revealed to TNG that N50 million had been budgeted over the years for the renovation of the hospital.
“You know Odi is in the Niger Delta. When the road was built, the Odi-Trofani road, they sand-filled the road, and it became far and above sea level. So, the hospital now became very far below the level of the road. The road caused some embankment and dyking. When it floods, the hospital floods too. That has contributed to the disintegration of most of the structures.
“I was Commissioner for Health. The State Government had a budget to fix it but unfortunately, the immediate past Governor did not release funds. He could not do much for the paucity of funds. So, that is where it is. We are hoping that the new government will release those funds because it has been in the budget for many years. So, that is the situation. It is not anybody’s fault. It is the fault of the government. The government has not risen up to the occasion,” he told TNG.
The former Commissioner, now acting VC of BMU went further to say that, “Out of the N50 million budgeted, if the government is releasing N10 million a year, it would have gone a long way but no releases were made. So, nothing happened. But I believe the present government, as it is, something positive would be done.
“Ordinarily, it is not supposed to be like that. Budgets do not need to run on the wings and caprices of the Governor. Budgets are estimates that are done by the various ministries and if the budget is to be implemented, it should be so implemented in stages, in phases as the case may be. But in Nigeria these days, it does not happen that way.
“For me as a Bayelsan, we have not done very well. We have done very badly. We have done badly in terms of our developmental indexes. We have the derivation; our allocation is more compared to other States created when Bayelsa was created. They have done well far better than Bayelsa.
“If you go to places like Ebonyi that are created at the same time as Bayelsa, if you see development there, you will be marvelled. Go to Kogi, see development there, you will be marvelled. Yet these States get almost, maybe one-quarter of what we get as monthly allocation.
“If you juxtaposed that with what is happening, it means we have a problem. The problem is that of leadership. When we have good leadership, we will get good development. Bayelsa has not lived up to the money accrued the State”.
Giving an insight into how long the Odi General Hospital has been left to rot, Etebu said, “If I cast my mind back, if I follow the calendar of the government in terms of who has been in government and all that, it has been like that after the destruction of Odi. After the destruction, the hospital, nothing has been done there. So, if you count from then till now, you can now have an estimate as of how long the hospital has been in that state. It has been long.
“I have been in government, I have ran institutions, what I noticed, particularly at the State level, is that there is no maintenance culture. You do not just have a building and you think the building will just remain the same forever. So, there is supposed to be a provision for maintenance budget. No maintenance funds in most of our budgets.
“Nobody talks about maintenance and that goes across board. Come to even the cities, you will see the roads are dilapidated and potholes-ridden. There is the ministry of works but nothing is being done. It is as if nobody is seeing. There is a local government, same thing, the local government does nothing. From the state government down to the local government, there is a disaster in Nigeria”.
HMB should just shut down the facility, says a concerned doctor
Visibly troubled by the state of the Odi General Hospital, the staff who spoke under the condition of anonymity told TNG it would have been better if the Hospital Management Board (HMB) shut down the hospital totally.
“The truth of the matter is that we are tired of the Odi General Hospital. The State Government knows the state of the hospital. The Hospital Management Board (HMB) that posted us there knows the state of the hospital. What we have on ground at the hospital is nothing to write home about. In fact, some poultry farms are better than the hospital.
“The impact of the bad hospital on the lives of the people is something you cannot underestimate. It is very obvious that for the fact that a general hospital is in such a very bad shape and no one seems to be bothered is alarming. The community people cannot enjoy good health services. To worsen the situation, most of them try helping themselves by registering for their BHIS [Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme] at other facilities like the ones in Okolobiri and Sagbama, thereby making the patient turn out to be very very low.
“No matter what you do in that place, some persons come around they look at it and they say, I cannot sleep in this kind of place. No matter how you try to encourage them to say they can receive good treatment despite the nature of the place, they refuse to stay. So, the thing is a lose-lose situation for the community and even the workers that are there.
“At a time we were even trying to see whether HMB can shut down the facility. When they shut down the facility, the government can then do the needful, and then they can now start talking about employing people for the facility afresh. The present condition of the hospital is so appalling. It is so devastating. It is not something anybody can wish for his enemy,” the staff said.
The staff further stated, “I do not know how it got this bad but it is just so bad that the community is really suffering from it because they cannot get quality medical services because the facility on the ground cannot provide that for them. It is not possible. So, the impact is enormous. It is not something they can imagine. You can imagine that antenatal mothers cannot access that place. They end up going to other places to deliver. On their way, some have issues. Some even go where they won’t get help on time compared to if they could access Odi General Hospital.
“Imagine indigenes of the community trying to access the place but they can’t be safe in the facility. They end up patronizing traditional birth attendants, patronizing local health attendants for things that medical officials were posted there to do. The picture is very horrible. It is not something anybody knows when it is going to end. How can a patient stay in a ward and be afraid that a cat or a snake can emerge from somewhere to attack you? There have been occasions when snakes were killed in our wards”.
The battle to revive Odi General Hospital
However, the anonymous staff also spoke with TNG on the way forward for the hospital. He urged the State Government to do the needful.
“The government knows what to do. They should do the needful. Since 2012, apart from then, until now, the place has been this way. The community and the people have lost hope and confidence in the place. Had it been the number of civil servants both active and retired, had it been they all register to use that general hospital, the only hospital in the local government, because of the capitation of BHIS, whether they come or they do not come, the hospital would have been entitled to that capitation.
“We could have been using such resources to be doing little stuff on our own. But, the civil servants preferred Okolobiri and Sagbama because of the state of the hospital, making the recovery level of the hospital even more difficult, because every hospital now is living on BHIS, whether patients come or not. No general hospital is receiving less than N600,000.00 from BHIS. Some are even N900,000.00 and over a million naira. But, Odi is less than N200,000.00. By the time you buy BHIS drugs of N150,000.00, what can you do?
“When I spoke with the king at a time, I told him it is going to be very difficult for the hospital to bounce back. First of all, they have to build new structures and restructure the place. After then, they would have to put town crying and involve all indigenes of Odi, both serving and retired under BHIS, to go back to BHIS and tell them to reschedule them back to their general hospital from wherever they have been partaking in the BHIS.
“That is the only way that place can become lively again. If not, no matter what you do there, people would say the structure is not good so they will have a good reason not to come to the hospital. Second, when you are through with the structure, you will now have to battle with the mind to convince them that the place is better off now and that there are good doctors on the ground.
“Then, we now go to BHIS to seek to transfer Odi people back to their own general hospital. That is what will give that place a boost. Had it been it has been the normal practice that any place that you are working as a medical doctor, you have skills, you will attract patients and people to attend your hospital because they love what you are doing, it is no longer like that. There is no money in town. Everybody is like if you go through BHIS, BHIS will pay your bills so long you are registered under the BHIS. So, everybody is thinking towards that direction. Any hospital that does not have BHIS file, it is very difficult. More so that we are in a dilapidated structure,” he said.
A dilapidated building that is supposed to be the doctors quarters of the Odi General Hospital.
Also, the officer who asked not to be named pointed out to TNG the big challenge of the hospital and urged the government to give the hospital a facelift.
“But one very big challenge we have here is accommodation for the staff. Like, over there, if you look there, you will see two building without roofs. That place is supposed to be the doctors’ quarter and the nurses’ quarter. For now, it means the doctors and the nurses do not have a place in the hospital. For now, the nurses are trying to manage with the other health workers, like the health assistants by managing this other quarter.
Another dilapidated building that is meant to be the nurses quarters of the Odi General Hospital
“On our own part here, we have tried our best, and still trying, to make sure that this place functions. Like in the early part of this month, we did an outreach. The essence of the outreach was like let us have a kind of rapport with the people, where we can discuss with them, and tell them, we have doctors here, we have nurses, we have everything, why are you people not coming. After the outreach, there was a little turn-up, but it is not like how a hospital should be. The local government and even this community are big. There is no way you will say people are not sick, just that they don’t have confidence here, rather their confidence is in somewhere else. Either they prefer the medicine dispensing shops or they move to Yenagoa.
“What the government can do for us is just to give the place a facelift. Once this place gets a facelift, it will begin functioning fully. Previously, before the place got to this extent, the place was actually booming. The hospital was functioning to its full capacity, and then, the place started coming down, until this stage now. Like today now, today is our antenatal. But, how many patients have I seen? Not up to ten in a community as big as this. It means something is wrong.
“The only thing government should do is give the hospital a facelift, and the rest can be sorted out. Once the people see that the place is looking beautiful, appealing to the eyes, they will come, because most persons, for example now, if you are being treated of malaria, and the whole ceiling is open, and even the person that is taking care of the patient is even afraid that the ceiling may fall on them, when you admit the patient, the patient will be like, please do and discharge me, I am not comfortable here.
“The government should just do little renovation and provide accommodation. Once the accommodation is there, people will stay. Everybody will be on the ground. That is the challenge of this place,” the medical officer narrated.
Meanwhile, Pastor Odoni said prayers are that God will visit those in the government so that they can come to change the fortune of the hospital.
“We are praying for God to visit those in the government. God should touch their hearts for them to remember to put the hospital in order because it is the only hospital available here, and could be the best if only the government can put it in order. The workers at the hospital are very active. The problem there is the structures and the equipment the personnel need to work with,” he said.
On his part, the Amanyanabo of Odi, HRH King Shine Apre, while addressing the situation of the hospital with TNG, appealed to the State Government to come to the rescue of the hospital.
“I am making my appeal to the government to come to rescue the hospital. The government needs to come and see the present state of the Odi General Hospital. The government should come. The hospital needs general renovation. The hospital is bad. No good thing in that hospital is acceptable to human living,” he said.
