THE LIES OF DICKSON AGAINST THE FG OVER #12.85 BILLION HE COLLECTED

Keme Adeosina
Minister for Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria

The govenor of Bayelsa State, Henry Dickson's claim that he had not collected any amount of money on bailout arrangement from the Federal government to cushion the the excruciating effect of none payment of salaries in Bayelsa, is a lie.
It is a lie because, Dickson was among, 19 governors that went to the Federal government led by President Buhari of the All Progress Congress and received a whoophing amount of #12.85 billion from the Finance Minister Keme Adeosena as bailout to the the Bayelsa State government to pay the huge sums of salaries debt hanging over the neck of the Seriake Dickson Government.
The State governor, Mr. Dickson had over the period kept a mute after collecting the jaw breaking amount of #12.85 billion on behalf of the poor civil servants of the state who put in all their best to the service of the state.
The money received by the self acclaimed transparent, accountable,  probable and honest, Restoration governor Dickson has not gotten into the hands of the civil servants on whose behalf Dickson signed the money before going into the December 5th 2015 governorship election.
All the while the governor during and after his campaigns had continued to deny the fact that he collected #12.85 billion on behalf of the workers, but rather going about, deceiving the outside world using a compromising section of the media that, his Restoration government had paid salaries up to date without collecting a dime from the federal government.
Bayelsans who have had information about the bailout fund had expected Dickson to pay them before the Xmas of their back log of salaries, which he had not done to date.
This is preposterous, it is unbelievable, unimaginable, and worrisome for a governor to collect money enveloped and addressed to a people and deny, he received nothing.
According to media reports called from the Punch, with the title: "UNPAID SALARIES: FG YET TO RECEIVE  FRESH BAILOUT REQUEST FROM STATES" published April 8 2016, gave a graphic account of how the said 19 states including Bayelsa collected the bailout funds for their respective states as follows:
"Abia #14.152bn, Adamawa #2.378bn, Bauchi #8.606bn, Bayelsa #12.85bn, Benue #28.013bn, Born #7.680bn, Cross River #7.856bn, Delta #10.036bn, Ebonyi #4.o63bn, Edo #3.167bn, Ekiti #9.604bn, and Enugu #4.207bn.
Other states include:  Gombe #16.459bn, Kogi #50.842bn, Kwara #4.320bn Nasarawa #8.317bn,, others are:
Niger #4.306bn, Ogun #19..00bn, Ondo #14.686bn,  Osun #34.988bn, Oyo #26.606bn, Plateau #5.357bn, Sokoto #10.o93bn, and zamfara #10.02bn,
Officials sources in the Finance Ministry close to the Hon,Minister had confirmed.
But Bayelsa governor Dickson neither disclosed this to the civil servants in particular, nor to the Bayelsa people and the world. Neither did he thank the Federal government for the kind gesture, instead pensioners whose pension entitlements have not been paid who went to Dickson to save them from dying of hunger by the none payment, were attacked by some so called vigilante group of boys used by the authority of government at the gate of the Government House, with dangerous deadly weaponslike broken bottles, stocks etc, that led to the infliction of deep injuries, while others were beaten mercilessly with sticks.
One eighty year old man was said to have been knocked down by the hoodlums and a Chief who bent down to help to bring  up the fallen octogenarian was attacked with a piece of broken bottle on his left cheek very close to the eye.
Out of all these Governor Seriake Dickson had kept inactive to the issue of paying salaries.
Just recently another bailout for the 8 Local governments Councils was approved by the Federal Government to the tune of #1.4bn enveloped and addressed to the Local Government workers, this also he had refused to pay, and allowed those to whom the money was approved to die of hunger, die of frustration, denied of their right to live etc. Pregnant women suffer and deliver without,their working parent being able to provide cry  over  buying of baby needs and foods because of Governor Dickson's insensitivity to the plight of the people.
Hon.. Dickson was elected to serve the people of Bayelsa, and not to boss over the people and subject them to poverty or inhuman treatment, because "the servant is not greater than the master"
The time has come for Mr. Dickson to give true account to the people of Bayelsa by telling them the truth and also paying up the salaries of both the state civil servants, the pensioned and those of Local Government with bailout billions of naira in his coffers.