2015: Plot to dump Bayelsa Senators, Reps thickens

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, there is a plot to deny senators and five members of the House of Representatives from Bayelsa State return tickets to the National Assembly.

As part of the plan, it was gathered that major stakeholders from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held a crucial meeting at the Ogbia Brotherhood Town Hall on Thursday, where they affirmed zoning of the party’s tickets for 2015.

The meeting was said to have been convened by King A.J Turner, President Goodluck Jonathan’s close confidant and a major power broker in the state.

The stakeholders, who are majorly from the Bayelsa East Senatorial District, argued that only strict adherence to zoning would guarantee peace and equity in the state.

If the decision is implemented the three senators and five members of the House of Representatives will lose their rights to seek reelection in the PDP.

The affected senators are Emmanuel Paulker (Bayelsa Central); Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa West) and Clever Ikhisipo (Bayelsa East).

Members of the House of Representatives affected are Foingha Jephthah(Nembe/Brass), Henry Ofongo (Southern Ijaw), Wallman Ogoriba (Yen/Kolga), Dr.Stella Dorgu (Sagbama) and Nadu Karibo(Ogbia).

The zoning decision of the stakeholders were said to have the backing of the President, Dr. Goodlcuk Jonathan, the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson and his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd).

The stakeholders were said to have resolved that Ikisikpo, Jephthah and Karibo should not be returned in 2015.

It was allegedly concluded that the seat of Jephtah, who hails from Nembe Local Government Area, had been zoned to Brass.

For Karibo, his seat is supposed to be rotated among Ogbia groups of Kolo, Oloibiri and Ayama. Having come from Oloibiri, the stakeholders said he must relinquish it to Ayama in 2015.

The Senatorial position of Bayelsa East, being occupied by  Ikisikpo, an Ogbia indigene, was said to have been returned to Brass.

It was gathered that the decision was generating controversies in the state, as the lawmakers were said to have felt betrayed, following their roles during the New PDP debacle in the country.

But they were said to be found wanting during the political crises that led to the deposition of former Governor Timipre Sylva.

It was, however, gathered that the stakeholders were planning to return the member representing Sagbama federal constituency, Dr.Stella Dorgu, who was elected to complete the term of Governor Seriake Dickson.

She was said not to be part of what the party termed “insubordination” during the debacle that removed Sylva.

DONKEY CHRONICLES from Ebi Komonibo: The Yeast of Bitterness

Harboring bitterness is like eating with unclean hands; it poisons and contaminates even the choicest of food prepared from the palace of kings. A little yeast leavens the entire loaf and whenever it is present must rise to the surface. One does not have to be  a baker to know how a dough becomes bread, or feel the heat inside the hearth to recognize the presence of this agent  no matter how cleverly it is concealed.

Attempting to express truth with bitterness is like talking with a mouth full of morning spit. You are not willing to swallow it and you are afraid to spit it out in public because of the odour it may exude and therefore keep it to garble the message.

Truth must not be complicated otherwise it is left only for the sophisticated to lord it over the simple majority.  The truth that liberates is that which is expressed raw and  simple without bitterness or resentment.

Ebi Komonibo

East-West road to be completed this year —Minister Of Works

THE Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, on Sunday, gave the assurance that the East-West road would be completed this year, even as he explained the reasons behind the delay in the road project.

The East-West road is an expressway that cuts across five states in the South-South geo-political zone, namely Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers and is expected to boost the socio-economic condition of the people of the affected states when completed.

The minister who disclosed this during an interactive meeting with journalists in Benin, said unknown to many Nigerians, mobilisation for the project was not paid until 2008 despite the fact that it was awarded in 2006.

The minister, who added that the project has reached 85 per cent completion, added that youth militancy, difficult terrains and extended rainy season hampered the quick completion of the project.

He praised the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in the transport sector, saying a research carried out by the Department of International Development of the United Kingdom shows that as at 2010, only about 4,000km out of 35,000km of roads owned by the Federal Government were in good condition, but three years after, about 25,000km of the roads were in good condition.

According to the minister, the South-South, like other parts of the country, has benefited from President Jonathan’s transformation agenda, listing some of the projects of the Federal Government in the South-South as the Oil and Gas Polytechnic in Bonny Island, Rivers State; the National Institute of Construction Technology in Uromi, Edo State; the National Maritime University in Okerekenko, Delta State and the Ibaka Deep Sea Port in Akwa Ibom State.

“In the power sector, Mr President Jonathan has completed the NIPP Power Plant at Ehor, Edo State, another one in SAPELE, Delta State, another one in Gbari, Delta State and still another one at Omuku in Rivers State,” he stated.

On whether he would join the Edo State governorship race in 2016, the minister said his focus was on delivering on his mandate, adding “it will be madness to start talking about governorship race when you don’t know what would happen tomorrow.”

Culled from: Nigerian Tribune

My miracles are not fake, they’re performed before church audience and aired live – TB Joshua

Prophet T.B Joshua, founder, Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, has dismissed  allegations that he performs fake miracles.

The televangelist has been critised in recent times following the collapse of the church’s collapsed building which killed at least 115 people.

In a statement released through the church’s official Facebook page, Joshua claimed that all his miracles were performed before the church audience and were broadcast live through the SCOAN’s Emmanuel TV.

“Please note, all of The SCOAN services are public and broadcast live on Emmanuel TV,” the statement read in part.

A South African journalist, Jacques Pauw had alleged that Joshua’s miracles were not genuine.

In his report he had said, “I challenged the pilgrims to provide me with medical proof that they had been healed. None did.”

Joshua was reacting to a media report concerning the authenticity of miracles performed by the pastor.

But, Joshua claimed that the media report was false. According to him, the names of the people who alleged that the pastor performed fake miracles are fabricated.

“The writer(s) fabricated names of people who do not exist and remained nameless and faceless in order to hide their evil intentions. They need to be investigated,” he said.

Joshua added, “It is our belief that these stories were intended to divert people’s attention from the evil that has been done.

Expressing his displeasure over the report, he urged security operatives to investigate those behind the report.

The SCOAN founder said, “Those involved in these stories need to be investigated concerning the building collapse. If they are not directly involved, they will help the investigation.

“If they are not the ones who did it, they know those who did. Perhaps, they were involved in the building collapse because they claim what is happening in The SCOAN is fake. They are suspect.”

The statement also urged the Synagogue church adherents and supporters not to be misled by the said report.

“Do not be misled and diverted from the truth. No matter how long a lie is sustained, the truth will someday prevail. Jesus is the Truth,” the statement urged.

Jonathan responsible for 30% of the north’s problems,IBB,Abacha,Buhari etc 70% –Sani

The President, Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Mallam Shehu Sani, has said that 70 per cent of problems bedeviling the North are caused by ex- presidents and leaders of northern extraction.

The remaining 30 per cent, Sani said, should be attributed to President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration’s sectional leadership and neglect of the North.
The CRCN boss described as a “waste” the number of years ex-heads of state and presidents of northern extraction had piloted the affairs of Nigeria. He argued that they had not only failed to empower the region but ruined it educationally, socially as well as economically.

He said the past leaders such as Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Shehu Shagari, Generals Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, the late Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, as well as the late Umaru Yar’Adua, all from the region only left behind trails of poverty, discords among the people of diverse faiths and ethnicity rather than development.

Sani, who is aspiring for the seat of the Kaduna Central Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, argued that President Jonathan only compounded the woes of the region while past leaders of the North simply left a region whose future was in doubt. The activist said this while addressing sacked and unpaid workers of textile industries in the North who gathered on the premises of the Kaduna Textile Limited, in Kaduna State on Saturday.

He added that the President only empowered the people of the South-South on the detriment of other citizens of the country.

He said, “70 per cent of the North is destroyed by northern leaders and 30 per cent is being destroyed by Jonathan. We must take the blame and must tell ourselves the truth.

Northern leaders had the opportunity to industrialise, to educate and to uplift the social standard of the region but they left behind a trail of poverty, of discord among people of diverse faiths and ethnic affinities.
“They left behind a region backward educationally and industrially. They left behind a region whose future is in doubt. For over three decades when northerners were in power they used the opportunity to empower traditional rulers and some religious leaders as well as making the rich, richer and pauperised the common man.

“They were not able to do what Jonathan is doing by empowering the young and the Niger Delta militants who are being enriched today. It was a wasted opportunity which I believe should serve as a lesson next time when power is back to the region.”

While condemning the insurgency in the North, Sani noted that the only way out of the current challenges in the region was for its leaders to embark on rapid revival of its industries, agricultural sector as well as to harness the resources of the region, rather than over-depending on federal allocations.

He said, “I must at this junction condemn the ongoing violence in northern part of the country. This act of terror and the discord between the Muslims and Christians and the backwardness of the region must stop.

“We are concern that the northern part of Nigeria is today becoming a theatre of violence and mindless killings. If there are functional industries, educational system and leadership, the North could not have been where it is today.”

Earlier in his address, the General Secretary of the Coalition of Closed and Unpaid Textile Workers Association, Kaduna State, Mr. Ishar Iorngulum, had said the workers had decided to queue behind the candidature of Sani to become the next senator representing the Kaduna Central Senatorial

District at the National Assembly in 2015.
He also said that they would mobilize their colleagues in other parts of the North to vote against some leaders in the region in the 2015 general elections.

Iorngulum, “It is the irresponsibility of the northern governors that led to the collapse of the textile industries in the North so we will vote against them in 2015 elections.”

Credit: punch newspaper

Councillors condemn non-payment of allowances, salaries in Plateau

THE Local Government Legislative Forum in Plateau State has cried out to the state government for non-payment of their allowances/salaries for the past six months since they assumed office as elected councillors.

  Leader of the forum, Mr. Gujere Clement Dalung, made the forum’s position known when he led other members on the visit to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. John Dadut.

  Dalung, who is also the legislative leader of Jos South Local Council, said as elected officers of their various local councils and grassroots politicians, there are more expectations from them by their constituents which for now they cannot meet due to the prevailing situations.

  He said they are passing through a lot of difficulties as a result of non-payment of their emoluments, stressing that they cannot give quality representation without being paid for such a long period of time.

  According to Dalung: “We are all aware that for over six months now as councillors, we have not been paid. We need to bring it to the front-burner for the government to understand that, look, as we are being affected by non-payment of this salaries, our people at the grassroots are also being effected.”

  He believed that their constituents see them as non-performers because they cannot execute small projects in their constituencies because of the problem of non-payment of their entitlements. He further said that as legislators, they needed to be re-orientated on the rudiment of their job in order to make them more focused and visionary to be able to implement the 10-point agenda anchored on the three-pillar policy of the present administration.

  “We are all aware that even as civil servants, at the point of receiving your appointment letters, it is being reflected how much your salary is going to be. But as councillors, for the first month, second month, third month and to the sixth month, we have not been paid. That is not even the issue but we don’t even know how much we are to be paid”, he said.

   He, however, applauded what he termed the humility of the commissioner who received them even without an appointment.

  Responding to issues raised by the forum, Dadut said the matter had earlier been discussed thoroughly with all the local council chairmen. He stated that since coming on board, he found things as they are.

  He said that he had made available the existing local council laws, which contain details of their emoluments to all their council chairmen. He attributed the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances to the delay in the submission of the comprehensive list of elected and appointed local council political office holders.

  He also acknowledged the fact that the bio-metric data capturing is another factor that caused the delay in the payment of their entitlements, assuring them that by the end of the month, the process would be over.

Culled from: The guardian

How tourism is lifting Bayelsa from poverty —DG Bayelsa Tourism Development Board

The Director General of Bayelsa Tour ism Development Agency, Mrs Ebizi Ndiomu Brown, in an interview revealed that one of the greatest achievements of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson is the rebranding of the state even as she added that tourism is being used as a key tool to lift people, especially in the rural areas and semi urban communities, from poverty and help create new economic opportunities across the state.

Brown said the establishment of the Bayelsa State Tourism Development Agency, with the mandate to discover,promote and market the tourism potentials of the state, has helped to attract and enhance the development process in the industry. The agency, according to her, has redefined event management for the purpose of engaging in tourism promotion in Nigeria.

“The governor as a visionary leader had long envisaged the need to engage in the promotion of sustainable tourism development.And as such, the state economy has received a lot of boost due to the tourism events; hotels are being built consultants in the hospitality industry are being employed;young men and women are engaged in these hotels and Catteries/Restaurants; better perception of the state by foreigners; greater recognition by international bodies such as the commonwealth, WTO etc due to the events organised by the state; development partners are showing a lot of confidence in the administration of Governor Dickson”, she stated.

Brown said the state government was implementing a number of strategic measures to develop the state in readiness for the upsurge in the tourism sector.”