Date Published: 04/01/10

Bayelsa Patriotic Professionals

Nikton Road, Off Mbiama-Yenagoa Road, Kpansia, Bayelsa

E-mail: bayelsapartpro@yahoo.com

Bayelsa Patriotic Professionals is an NGO made up of professionals from various backgrounds based in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital. We have watched with keen interest the cynical actions and activities of some faceless Groups in Bayelsa state.

Ordinarily, w do not believe in joining issues but we are compelled to take a peep into a recent write up by one Ayebaemi Douglas on behalf of a group of activists one of the various faceless groups/individuals on March 13, 2010 where he asked ‘Who is the Richest Politicians in Bayelsa state?’

We are of the view that Douglas, if he really exists as an Activist should have concentrated on how Bayelsa state and the Ijaws at large can move forward amongst the comity of states in Nigeria rather than the pull him down syndrome that is becoming synonymous with the Ijaws.

For Douglas to single out the Due-Process as a Body and the person of the Deputy Governor Rt. Hon. Peremobowei Ebebi shows how myopic he is and a clear display that he is acting the script of his pay master (s) somewhere.

The Due-Process Bureau as a Body is made up of human beings and as such, they are not infallible. Good or bad, it has been able to discover ghost workers, multiple employments and the loss of a whooping #300 million monthly to the perpetrators of these dastardly acts. One expects that Douglas, the activist would have called for the prosecution of those culpable in the report.

Bayelsa, is the only state where civil servants both at the junior and senior cadre especially those in the Treasury can display wealth ostentatiously.

On the person of the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Peremobowei Ebebi as the richest politician in Bayelsa state, Douglas used the indices of longevity in political offices, strategic importance of the office and the ownership of property to draw his conclusion.

He and his co-travelers should have understand that a man who dabbled into politics via the House of Assembly in 1999 and had served the state as a two time Speaker before being elevated as deputy governor in 2005 shows that Ebebi is loved by his people and a grassroot politician.

Since Douglas is presumed a faceless person, otherwise we would have challenged him to go down memory lane or the political archives of Bayelsa state to know that some of those who started their political careers in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in 1999 like Ebebi are still in the legislative business at the federal level. To prove our points, we will just mention two persons Hon. Clever Ikisikpo and Hon. Nelson Believe that are currently in the House of Representative.

Property: We know that Douglas cannot even substantiate the ownership of 50 houses in Yenagoa alone by Ebebi not to talk of property worth more than #15 Billion in Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, and Abuja.

Also, we want to let Douglas know that there is nothing wrong in Ebebi as Deputy Governor owning a hotel and filling stations in Yenagoa as he has generated employment for some Bayelsans in a state that is purely a civil service one.

On the alleged illegal deduction of #5 million from each of the 24 Local Government Areas, Douglas seems not to know that there is a Local Government Commissioner who JAC’s with council chairmen when council allocations come from Abuja. Douglas, we think needs schooling on Civil Services and Local Government Administration that is if he was not embarking on deliberate falsehood and mischief to mislead Bayelsans, Ijaws and Nigerians.

Let us also put the records straight by saying that for the said faceless groups to say that the deputy governor whose father was kidnapped some time ago is close to militants’ shows their shallow level of happenings in Bayelsa state. The Deputy Governor had also not engaged in any anti-party activities at any given time.

We are surprise that the self acclaimed activists had not been able to beam their search lights on some serving commissioners in the state who displaced their wealth ostentatiously and had been invited severally by the EFCC and call for their removal.

We use this opportunity to alert members of the public of these faceless groups purported to be operating from Yenagoa that could not be traced to any visible address. We are aware of their sponsors and that they would soon be unmasked for the security agents to prosecute them in order to serve as a deterrent for others.

Nigerians are also aware of the recent development in Bayelsa State where some civil servants in the state are being arrested by the anti-graft commission (EFCC) while some have been declared wanted.

Let us collectively build Bayelsa state, the Ijaw nation and Nigeria at large for the better.