COUNT DOWN TO DICKSON 1ST YEAR IN 2ND TERM IN OFFICE

Monday 13th of February 2017, the governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Henry Seriake Dickson announced that he was going to address the Nigerian Press to highlight some of his achievements and also to field questions so as to identify areas of cross fertilization of ideas to better inform the masses of especially, the people of the state, of the nation and of the world.
But as a big surprise to media practitioners in the state, Mr. Dickson decidedly hijacked the so called media briefing, narrowed it to a mere radio and television interactive session with surrogates in another closed door meeting that prevented journalists in the state to participate in what he called media briefing, that is their right to attend and to inform the masses.
However, here are some few questions for the governor, Mr. Dickson to answer:
1. What is it that monumental achievement you have made that is what celebrating in this 5th year of your administration?

archival 5 star hotel

2.Your Excellency, just to remind you, when you took the oath of office as governor of Bayelsa, side by side with the deputy governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah (Rtd) at the Isaac Boro Peace Park in the State capital Yenagoa on the 14th of February, 2012. In your maiden address, Your Excellency, I can remember  vividly that you declared free and compulsory Education at all levels, have you achieved that?
3. Your Excellency, there are countless reports about sorry state of schools, whereby teachers leave classrooms over none payment of salaries for many months thus subjecting the Bayelsan child to stay at home or roam about in their environment. As if that was too little your administration had suffocated the only State own University, the Niger Delta University, by denial of funds for both salaries and overhead cost. Thus had your,so called, restoration government forced the University to close down again and again, is that an achievement?
4. Is it water supply or power, you want to tell Bayelsans about your achievement? Your Excellency, for water supply you cannot tell the people more than what they already know that it is so bad that, water vendors are the ones supplying water to the state secretariat.

Melford Okilo Memorial Hospital 

On power supply, your campaign promise was to power the entire state through gas turbines and sell surplus to neighboring states, have you done that, Your Excellency?
5. When you came with the mantra of Restoration, that of bringing back the lost glory of Bayelsa, the average thinkers especially the civil servants reasoned that a messiah had come and they were full of hope, now they and the pensioners are all crying together for non payments. Your Excellency, how many months salaries are you owing the civil servants and how many months are you owing the pensioners?
Your Excellency, it is a matter of fact that  government is a continue, which means that a succeeding government begins to build from where the former stops and that's why assets and liabilities are inheritance of governments. But when you came on board and inherited assets and liabilities of the state, you paid attention to only the assets but to the liabilities owed Bayelsans you pay no attention, all you claim to have done is that you settled some liabilities outside. Why not also settle the liabilities of Bayelsans, are Bayelsans your enemies?
Bayelsa is the glory of all Lands, that has the same or similar meaning with being called Holy land, like Israel. Though the first civilian governor, Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha of blessed memory tried in that light, built the Glory Land Church in government house, sponsored Church buildings in communities, sponsored Christian and Muslim pilgrimages. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Timipre Sylvain followed in putting God first by sponsoring pilgrimages, but your government even say NO! to that, why?

GOV. DICKSON'S EDUCATIONAL VISION UNPRECEDENTED-ADIGIO AUSTIN

The S/A to the governor of Bayelsa State on Students Affairs, Mr. Adigio Austin, had given kudos to the Governor Henry Seriake Dickson for giving him the opportunity to serve.
Mr. Adigio Austin who spoke to the Golden Pen Newspaper in an interview held in his office in the state capital, Yenagoa, said it has given him the opportunity to know how much the state government led by Hon. Dickson had invested in the Education sector. He spoke on two key areas.

1. The secondary school level, 2. Tertiary level. Speaking on the Secondary schools level, Mr. Adigio Austin has this to say, hear him:

"The governor of Bayelsa State, His Excellency, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson has a very novel educational vision and programme for the state. Which has given assurance to both parents and students in what is called, 'his ambitious educational novel boarding school' built and equipped across the eight Local Government Areas of the state, aimed at bringing up brilliant indigent students through the boarding school system where they will be exposed to academic best practices...", he said.

Mr. Adigio Austin

On tertiary institutions, he said the government has done so much for students of the state in the area of scholarships to various academic institutions in some of the best schools in the world. He explained as follows:
"Before the economy became this bad, the governor because of his ambitious and unprecedented academic vision sent students to some of the best universities abroad to study..."
The S/A Students Affairs, emphatically, stated that in his life, he had never seen a governor who had such passion as Hon. Dickson in the Education sector. Hear this:
"As a matter of fact, I didn't grow up to meet boarding school arrangements, because when the Okilos were governors of Rivers State and Education was give such priority as said during the Diete Spiff  era, I probably may have been a toddler, but in my adult life, I have never seen such conscious investment in the Education sector by any other government."

BAYELSA STATE GOVERNMENT URGED TO DRAG OIL COMPANIES TO COURT FOR VIOLATION OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS

Barrister Iwolo Ibeni

A legal luminary in Bayelsa State, Mr. Iwolo Ibeni has called on the government of the state not to shy away from taking the oil companies operating in the state that violate the economic rights of the state and her citizenry.
He stated this, during an interview with the Golden Pen Newspape in the State capital, Yenagoa.
The learned man noted with concern that most of the volatile incidences that crumbled the economy of the state could have been avoided if the Oil companies operating in Bayelsa had established their offices in the State, which he described as the Right of the state and urged the government to enforce that Right by going to court with a view to forestall future occurrences of insurgency and the consequences of economic stagnation and poverty. Hear him:
"The Land use Decree, (Act) by the Federal Government is not against oil companies having offices in the areas of their operation. That is why Shell, Agip, and other companies have their offices in sisterly oil states like Rivers, Akwa/Ibom, Delta and others. The question is why not also in Bayelsa..." he queried.
Barrister Iwolo explained that it is the Right of the Bayelsa state government to drag the erring companies to court to address the repeated violation of the economic rights of the state that had resulted in insecurity of the people claiming lives and property. He used the medium to call on the oil companies operating in the state to establish their offices in the state, in these words:
"The oil companies should as a matter of priority have their offices here in Bayelsa. There is no way you should stay away from the area you operate and expect the people to be happy. If they have their offices here, and there are issues, at least, they will be able to address such issues than jumping all the way from Abuja to address them..."
He said, the oil companies have done a great injustice to the Bayelsa people knowing that oil was first found in commercial quantity in Oloibiri in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa, wondered why offices are established in every other oil producing state, but Bayelsa had been sidelined or oppressed.
Barrister Iwolo has therefore called on the state government not to shy away from seeking redress in the court of law so as to receive what is the state's rightful dues to boost her Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), he concluded.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BROTHERHOOD AND GOOD FRIENDSHIP

Sometimes it is necessary or reasonable to ask questions as to why certain things happen, where it happened, so on and so forth. That undoubtedly could be in the minds of some of those who see this picture. They would be either occupied with where this picture was taken, at what occasion and by the way, who are those in the picture, where do they  come from and what relationship do they have?
It is for this reason, jus a little has to be said of the picture. The two great gentlemen in the picture are Nembe people Let me say where  the photo was taken and the occasion.
The simplest way to put it is that, it was at a joyous matrimonial occasion held at a Church in Amarata in the Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa between Iduate and Frank all of Nembe in the Nembe Local Government Area of the State.
The reception held at  Matho Crystal, one of the prestigious hotels in the fledgling state capital located at the Imiringi axis of the all Ijaw state in the Niger Delta region of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
From left to right is, Chief O.G. Evans Tubonah Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Golden Pen Newspaper and Dr. Apoku Inodu, Permanent Secretary in the State Civil Service
 Photo taken  at the swimming pool area of the hotel.
They decided to take the picture because as Nembe people they see themselves as brothers and friends.

CHIEF TUBO DESCRIBES WORK AS EXERCISE

Chief Abbot Clinton Tubo

The Bayelsa State environment has been so quiet for months due to the uncertain economic situation in all quarters of the 20 years old state. The expression of quietness and uncertainty of the economy of the state stood boldly on the faces of some daring civil servants who braved their way in and out of the State Secretariat.
Fridays are now special days in the State under the Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson's administration which directive for Civil Servants to promote the Ijaw Culture, by wearing Ijaw attire on Fridays had indeed been strictly adhered to.
And it was to ascertain the level of compliance to this directive on the promotion of the Ijaw Culture, that led the Golden Pen to pay a visit to the office of one of the key government officials in the state capital, Yenagoa, whose name was given as, Chief Abbot Clinton Tubo who spoke on the rationality of promoting the Ijaw Culture, expressed the hope of opening up the ways of the Ijaw nation to the world through the tourism industry.
Speaking on working in the Civil Service,  Chief Clinton Tubo described work as the best exercise he loves to do.

THE ERRORS OF BAYELSA STATE GOVERNMENT AND MARGINALIZATION OF THE PRESS

Chief O.G. Evans Tubonah
Publisher/Editor-In-Chief
Golden Pen Newspapers

Just few days from now Bayelsans will join her counterparts in the country to celebrate the Independence of our country Nigeria, which occasion is a coincident to the creation of Bayelsa State which is celebrated along with the Independence on the same October 1st annually from 1996 to date.
Whereas this occasion brings together within and from the diaspora all sons and daughters of the state and of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality to reflect on the journey so far and the well being of the people, the way such programmes were managed has been called to question as to the unity and oneness of the people and institutions.
Though the role of galvanizing the people of the state for such grand occasions  is herculean, and officials of the State government had been found swimming in the tide of errors in her relationship with personalities and individuals in the area of protocol. Most importantly, it is not unreasonable to point out to the Bayelsa State Government that marginalizing the Press in the state in the scheme of things is a grievous error that needs to be corrected without further delay.
The Bayelsa State government led by the the Restoration Governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson started well with the Press initially, but for some time now, it's like the door of government has been closed against the Media. It baffles not only one but media practitioners to see that all their efforts in the past and present to move Bayelsa State forward had not been appreciated, for which reason; media practitioners are totally absent in the protocol list of Government House.
The Bayelsa State Government in particular and the Nigerian nation should not forget the role the press played in State and National building. It is on record that, it was the press that fought gallantly at the forefront during the independence struggle and also fought the military to midwife democracy which is enjoyed today, by those in their priviledged positions across the country.
And in the same light the role of the Press in the struggle for the creation of Bayelsa State cannot be over emphasized. It is also on record, the roles of the Press from the genesis of Bayelsa State to date moving on in her zeal to move Bayelsa State forward.  This, the Bayelsa State government does not seem to appreciate about the press at all, and that may be the reason the press is always not in the protocol list of those government would want to relate with or favour.  In such a great  occasion, as celebrating Nigeria's Independence and the birth of Bayelsa, one would have expected that all stakeholders be given a feel of government's seesensitivity to the contributions made by the people including those in the media, but that has not been the case with the media.
Intact, the Bayelsa State government had either knowingly or unknowingly treated the media practitioners in the state as inconsequential and had sidelined them even on programmes or occasions that needed their attention for documentation. Now, in such an occasion as the 56th Anniversary of Nigeria's Independence and 20th Anniversary of Bayelsa, media practitioners interested to attend the function did not make the protocol list announced by the Government through the Office of the Honourable Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Hon. Obuebite Jonathan.. This is a grievous error that need to be corrected in earnest for the well being and prosperity of our dear state, because the media makes governance easier to governments that work in tandem with the Press.
This is no doubt a challenge that the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite should intervene and achieve reestablishment of that government/media partnership that existed

MASTER FRANCIS 2ND BIRTHDAY PIX

Aunty Diepreye Evans, cousin Bio Bokolo and Sister Ngonabo Francis with Master Francis