Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, speaks on the build up to the forthcoming governorship election in the state, his achievements and why he wants to serve for a second term. Segun James brings the excerpts:
Your administration is over three years in office, how is the journey so far?
Everyone knows that in Bayelsa State, we don't owe salaries; we are not in arrears of salaries. We are also not in arrears in paying retirees. A few days ago, I met with some pensioners and they expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the government. That was very emotional to me because of what pensioners and retirees have gone through in the past after retirement.
Now, the only challenge we have is about gratuity which has lingered for about ten years. Like I said, in terms of regular payment of salaries, Bayelsa is not owing and we are also not owing pensioners. What are the measures we have put in place? It's a combination of prudence and the selfless dedication of my team. For us the people's interest comes first and that's why even in my office for three months running, there has been no running cost paid. We don't also have overhead paid for three months now, all because we want to ensure that salaries of workers are paid.
These are for us first line charges and every government needs to treat this as priority payments. And so, God has been helping and my team has been supporting and dedicated and that's why we have been able to achieve what most states have not been able to achieve for now.
The bailout that states are getting, Bayelsa is not getting. Since Bayelsa is not indebted, Bayelsa is not given bailout because the bailout is for states that are indebted. Yes, our commitment to contractual obligation to contractors is what we are thinking about so that developmental project works can continue, to see that at the end of the day Bayelsa is way up there.
You recently presented an instrument amounting to N46m to kick start the payment of the Bayelsa State Volunteers engaging about 3,000 youths, 600 of whom are graduates and 2,400 non-graduates. Could you please throw more light on this scheme?
The Bayelsa Volunteer Scheme is being rejuvenated and for those who are talking about graduate unemployment, for those who are saying things that are politically motivated, this government has engaged more youths than any government before me in terms of public employment and public service at all levels.
We feel that we should start off with that. The Bayelsa Volunteers would start up a mechanism for training their members and imparting necessary skills in them for more permanent employment and productive enterprise. I said while presenting the instrument that every month they don't need to come to me as it will be treated as first line charge, as part of the general salary payment.
So all those beneficiaries, once salaries are paid, they will also get their allowances. They will be given opportunity to do a few things to earn a living, to earn one skill or the other. As I said earlier, it is not intended to be a terminal stop-gap for the moment. It is to assist them find their bearing, assist them to cope with these difficult times pending when they will get something better and it will be nice for them to have this at the back of their minds before they start thinking they've got a pensionable job because that's not the amount they would need to make a living forever. I enjoin all of them to be law abiding and to be faithful to their assigned duties and to acquire the necessary skills and correct attitude.
The gubernatorial poll is now few weeks away and some members of your party, the PDP, are jumping ship. What is your party doing to survive the challenges?
Well, let me assure you that this state is a solid PDP State. In the last general elections we saw that a number of these big wigs did not support the candidates of the mainstream of the party, the flag bearer of the party, we won resoundingly and these were elections that were far more keenly contested and more complicated.
We campaigned in every constituency. Opposing campaigns were sponsored by our own party members, party stalwarts and candidates were floated from all other parties against our platform but in spite of all interferences, in spite of all the intimidation, the PDP won resoundingly and you don't need to look too far. Politics is not magic that you just conjure victory overnight. No, victory comes as a result of a totality of a lot of factors. Just because we have lost to APC at the general election, some fair weather politicians are running to APC as if they can make APC win overnight. Politics is not so.
You are talking of a party with three Senators out of three Senators, you are talking of a party that has five out of five House of Representatives members, and even at the worst of times when PDP in Abuja was contending against PDP Bayelsa, with the support of faithful party members that we enjoy, we won three Senate seats, five House of Representatives seats, and won 22 bout of 24 House of Assembly seats. And one is now at the tribunal, though we still believe that even in that seat we should have been declared. Now, you have eight local government areas, political appointees, commissioners, special assistants, board chairmen and members, you have almost one hundred and five counselors, How do you think you will suddenly, in two, three months almost overnight overthrow that kind of party?
And to cap it all, you have a performing governor on ground who knows elections, who is giving effective, proactive and consistent leadership to the party, because if I were not in position to give that leadership, let me tell you by now you would not have PDP in Bayelsa. What with the forces that were arrayed against this state and against our party. For more than three years I contended against forces without complaining, stubbornly and rightly resisting them in the interest of this state, in the interest of the Ijaw nation.
This state is a solid, impregnable stronghold of the PDP. Most of these big wigs, for about 15 or 16 years, PDP made all of them seem big. When PDP needed them most, at the last general elections, and for some reasons rightly or wrongly, they supported other candidates, PDP defeated them. And so while we are not happy that for whatever reasons most of these our brothers, friends and colleagues and they still remain our brothers and friends, even though we may not agree with them politically, there are no real disagreements. These are political disagreements so PDP still has enough room for all of them.
This land of proud Ijaw people will not reward our adversary, our opponents will not be rewarded, the gang up that was formed against the Presidency in the previous election will not be rewarded. Bayelsans are wise people, very experienced people. They are not as gullible as what some of these people think they are. They may succeed in spreading rumour, they may succeed in spreading propaganda but I assure you on the day of voting, Bayelsans will rise up, Bayelsans will speak with one voice, Bayelsans will vote defend their Ijaw home land. This Jerusalem of the Ijaw nation will not be handed over on a platter of gold to those who ganged up to humiliate us in this country.
They should look at the appointments that have been made so far and tell me which Ijaw man that has been appointed so far. They should be ashamed of themselves and their children should be ashamed of what their fathers are doing. Let them mention the appointments that have been made that are from Bayelsa. This time calls for unity in Bayelsa. This is a time that calls for unity and cohesion. This is not a time to tear down this sacred land of Bayelsa. With what they are doing I'm sure Isaac Boro whom we brought back to bury will be turning in his grave to see if these are the leaders we have in Bayelsa. The late Harold Dapapreye, the late Melford Okilo will be looking at these characters, who do not know what it means to protect the collective Ijaw national interest.
We in PDP feel that a party that has given us the first President from the acclaimed minority, the PDP remains the Ijaw peoples’ party. We know that this is politics and our constitution guarantees freedom of association. But beyond selfish interest, beyond selfish ambition there is a higher cause or interest, especially for those who claim the responsibility of leadership. I am very confident the PDP led government in this state has done enough to count on our record of performance. If a governor in this trying period does even half of what we have done, people will clap for that governor. Maybe they don't know that the Ogobiri bridge has progressed. They should go and find out. The bridge has extended to Ogobiri from Amassoma. What the APC fellows could not do for five years.
I hear the gentleman leading the APC said that road was not economically viable but the PDP government has made it economically viable. PDP has made all roads viable. We are constructing a road to Oporoma, we are constructing a road to Ekeremor with sand filling gone beyond Ofoni and we intend to move on. The Road to Azikoro in this Yenagoa, they could not do it for five years. They attempted to demolish houses and that was all they could do but now it is completed. Look at the first flyover that is standing there as a testimony to our development efforts in our state and not to talk of the schools and schools and schools everywhere.
Again drive to the Five Hundred bed that is standing there as a marvel. The Diagnostic centre that is world class, with residential accommodation for doctors and other auxiliary facilities are there. State building is not done overnight. When you have a government that has the vision and commitment for development, what you do is to co-operate to move the state forward. Now we feel that with all that we have done, with the peace and security that have returned to our State, that these characters leading APC who only stole and stole even the lives of our young people Bayelsans will now have an opportunity very soon to say whether they want to return to those dark days. Well, who sees light and prefers to return to darkness?
I am here as a democratic governor, a champion of democracy and even where I am tested with some of the most violate situations or nasty propaganda, you have seen that I have not arrested any person or disrupted any meeting of the opposition for criticising me. People are organizing rallies, including those who were throwing dynamites, shooting and killing people for declaring their ambition, for merely exercising their democratic right because that is their right.
It is our conviction that Bayelsans are not fools to listen to them and to believe that when they come you will have plenty of money. It's all lies. When the people leading APC and most of these characters were here, were you picking money on the streets of Bayelsa? At that time shops were closing and people were leaving Yenagoa. That is not happening now because your monies are not stolen from Abuja. Your monies are not given to cultists; your monies are now spent where they should be spent - for the people's business. Are we content? I will say no, because our resources are limited but you all know that we mean well and to do the best that there can be.
When people come to you to tell you lie, please go to some states, they can't even pay salaries. Are the governments of Rivers State giving money to people on the streets or in Delta State? Some of these people if they were here could not even have paid civil servants salaries. Some of these people even borrowed money claiming to use it on payment of salaries but they stole it.
So Bayelsans, shine your eyes. You have a government that means well so all you need to do is to co-operate and be patient. We don't intimidate anybody, anybody is free to criticize and they are doing so, some are even choosing to defect to other parties. Back to your question, PDP would want all our party members and stake holders back. Even if you don't have political appointment, it does not mean you are not a party man or woman.
There are limited opportunities in government and this is a relay race where you run your own while others run their own but not that once you are not in government, you constitute yourself into a mindless opposition group. You should be grateful for a government that has given you opportunity to serve. The other one is not yet a political party. It is a conglomeration of people who craved to take power by all means against one of your own.
So we want to have them back but if in exercise of their political right they think otherwise, PDP is not shaken. The processes of reconciliation are open. I myself I'm open but no one should think that without you the party that made you cannot make other people, the party is bigger than anyone person. How the other party will organize themselves to face us is left to them but I know they are propelled by personal greed, personal ambition, in order to plunder the resources of the state for personal ends.
They are propelled by ambition to take power to favour their families, their friends and themselves. They are not doing what they are doing for the interest of the State and my people on election day will mobilise our men and supporters and will separate the boys from the men.
No comments:
Post a Comment