Fresh from one leg of his campaign tour of communities in Bayelsa where he
\nrecorded rapturous receptions,\u00a0 Gov Henry Seriake Dickson fielded
\nquestions from the media on the forthcoming governorship election. Basing
\nhis confidence of victory on his widely acknowledged record of
\nperformance,\u00a0 he\u00a0 asked\u00a0 his main opponent: how many \u2018monkey bridges\u2019 did
\nyou build? Excerpts:<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/p>\n
What informed your decision to embark on a community -to- community
\ncampaign? With what you have seen so far how much of democracy\u2019s
\ndividends would you say has really flowed down to the people at the grass
\nroot level especially in Brass and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas?<\/p>\n
Governor Dickson:<\/p>\n
I want first of all to use this opportunity to thank the chiefs, elders,
\nleaders and the good and wonderful people of the communities and Local
\nGovernment Areas and Wards that I have been to so far for their outpouring
\nof love and support and encouragement. It was touching to see school
\nchildren wearing uniforms that my government supplied carrying banners in
\nappreciation of their Governor and praying for\u00a0 me for the investments I
\nam making for their future. That is a lasting dividend of democracy: the
\ninvestment in the future of the state, in the hearts and minds not of a
\nfew Yenagoa -based critics and Abuja- based politicians. I saw hope and
\nappreciation in the faces of our people, we got gifts from every community
\nand political leaders. our people do not know any other political party
\ncontesting for this election other than me as the candidate of the PDP. I
\nsaw the massive outpouring of genuine love and support from the chiefs,
\nelders, youths, women groups.<\/p>\n
Well, you asked why this community to community tour?\u00a0 Part of what I am
\ndoing and have been doing is to quietly in my own way change the way
\npolitics is played in this state.\u00a0 The level of maturity and tolerance I
\nhave brought to bear on the politics is such that you see the\u00a0 opposition
\ncampaigning against me as vigorously as I am also\u00a0 campaigning. That is
\nhappening for the first time. When the APC\u2019s\u00a0 Chief Timipre Silva was
\ngovernor, you saw what he did. Even the primaries in his own party was
\nfilled with shooting and holding people hostage.\u00a0 When he was here as
\nGovernor, anybody who wanted to campaign against him will be attacked. One
\nof his supporters, Chief Rufus Abadi,\u00a0 knows what happened to him in his
\nhouse at Otuan. But some of\u00a0 our people have short memories.\u00a0 I want to
\nchallenge my opponent\u00a0 Sylva to do same and sleep in the communities as I
\nam doing, instead of bragging about federal force. No one knows him at the
\nfederal level other than he was used to unseat his brother. Let him go to
\nour communities and relate with them freely as I am doing.<\/p>\n
I sat in a dining hall built by my Government in Okugbie one of the
\ninvestments we have made in all the communities. We are not where we want
\nto be yet but we have made a difference and they appreciate the roads and
\nthey are all waiting to receive me. The last community on my way was Ayama
\nand all Tarakiri communities.\u00a0 They were very receptive such\u00a0 that for
\nthree days they did not go to the forest or farm, they waited for me for
\ntwo to three days, to encourage me. I cannot thank them enough. It is my
\nprayer that after the election I will go back on this community tour
\nbecause it has also opened my eyes more which is the central purpose of
\nthis Government: to see the people\u2019s material conditions and how much I
\nhave tried to solve all their problems\u00a0 and to see what remains to be
\ndone.<\/p>\n
These gentlemen called APC are trying to take our state nowhere. Despite
\nthe old names, their communities do not appreciate them, they have no
\nsupport. I have done what no government has done before, spent two nights
\nin Southern Ijaw, one night in Korukoreseigh which is my speaker\u2019s
\ncommunity. The enitire ward waited till about 8pm when we got there. We
\ncommissioned their pavilion, a road that we did, they also have the
\nschools and investments that are there. All we are doing\u00a0 is to
\nconsolidate so that by God\u2019s grace those boarding schools will start by
\nJanuary and I cannot wait to see these children that I saw in all the
\ncommunities wearing smart clean uniforms provided by the Restoration
\nGovernment, with books supplied. Our children are bright and because of
\nthe investments we have in education they can compete with their mates
\nelsewhere.\u00a0 That is why I am not surprised that our educational rating has
\ngone up from 28 in the national chart to fourth in WAEC\u00a0 results.\u00a0 If we
\nachieved this within this short period then imagine what will happen when
\ni consolidate with all these twenty five constituency\u00a0 schools coming on
\nstream?Where have you seen that kind of investment of over twenty six
\nbillion naira put in and concrete jobs in the communities and the
\ncommunities are seeing,\u00a0 it so they know it is not just talk.<\/p>\n
I do not see anybody seriously contesting against me,\u00a0 not even my good
\nfriend and brother Sylva and his\u00a0 APC. They are only holding meetings in
\nAbuja and threatening their own fathers and mothers and brothers that they
\nwill use federal forces to come and over run their own people for their
\nown purpose not for the development of our state. This is a man who had
\nbeen here for 5 years, where are his statistics of development? What did
\nhe do for Bayelsa.He is only playing on the nature, fears and greed, the
\nenvy and jealousy of our people.\u00a0 There is nothing in their politics for
\nthe people of Bayelsa state other than putting some bad belle people
\ntogether to fight me. Because I did not allow them to go to Senate for a
\nthird time so I must not go for Governorship. Even the people in their
\ncommunities know they have a Governor they can trust, they know when I
\nmake a promise I keep it. All the promises I made in the course of the
\nTour I am fulfilling right away.<\/p>\n
Leadership is about trust and responsibility, building not destroying. So
\nanytime somebody talks about destruction you know that is not a leader but
\na gangster, a criminal. It is because of the weaknesses of Nigerian
\ninstitutions that these people have been allowed to grow the way they are
\nand people mistake them for leaders. You cannot be seeking the mandate of
\nthe people and saying \u201dWhether you like it or not I will bring soldiers\u201d
\nas if you are the one who employed them and saying Nigerian troops are at
\ntheir beck and call. Are Nigerian troops members of APC?They want to just
\ndestroy our institutions and our country. PDP was in power for 16 years,
\nLagos and other states remained in opposition does it mean Jonathan could
\nnot order troops before he conceded defeat?<\/p>\n
Sylva said pensioners have not been paid.\u00a0 I am the one who said that our
\nallocation is unfortunately low, even offices do not have allocation, I am
\nsorry that is the situation but I gave my word and true to type we have
\nstarted paying. When he was here he was not paying them for years, I have
\nthe records, he was owing over 6 billion naira in gratuities. Someone who
\ncould not manage N15-16 billion, can he manage N4.2 b that we are
\nreceiving now? Out of which we are still paying his debt. The bond he took
\nruns till 2017.Do you think Sylva has changed overnight, that there is no
\nrecord of his killings? I went to communities and they were telling me
\nstatistics of young people that were killed by Operation Famutangbe under
\nGov. Sylva\u2019s watch, go to Amarata they will tell you the number of young
\nboys they lost. But the good news is that the communities, the voters are
\nthe ones that matter in an election and they are with us which is another
\nparadigm shift I am introducing in the politics of this state. After this
\nelection you will see that never again will someone call himself or
\nherself a political leader merely because you have held one office and you
\nare staying in Abuja, Lagos or Yenagoa. I went to Kpansia, the community
\nwaited 2-3 days for me and I got there at night, same for Opolo and they
\nwelcomed me, gave me a sword and tied wrapper on me when I got there
\nbecause they believe in me. If Bayelsans are self respecting and you want
\nother Nigerians and people to look at you the Ijaw people with respect,
\nthen this is not the time to embrace\u00a0 APC. Ijaw people will not be put to
\nshame.<\/p>\n
From the ministerial position they gave you can see how they rate Bayelsa.
\nFrom a state that lost Presidency, where our only permanent secretary has
\nbeen removed, only God knows what happens next. Our highest customs
\nofficers retired. They say we got minister of State for Agriculture I say
\nno it is assistant minister, in effect it is minister without portfolio.<\/p>\n
The truth is that Bayelsans must wake up, the elites must learn to put the
\npeople\u2019s collective interest ahead of their own selfish interest. Timipre
\nSlyva went about promising people governorship and he became the
\ngovernorship candidate,\u00a0 he also promised everybody the position of deputy
\ngovernor and he failed them. This is the Jerusalem of the Ijaw nation and
\ncannot be given out to a man like Timipre Slyva, a man that has never
\nsucceeded in anything he does. You saw him perform as Governor, let him
\ntell us the opponent he allowed to campaign freely as I am doing now. Even
\nthough I disagree with him he has the right to campaign all over the State
\nand I urge everybody to give him respect but do not vote for him, do not
\nsupport him. When he comes to tell you what he has to say, ask him
\nquestions, why he allowed Famutangbe to kill people when he was governor.
\nAsk him his record of security and how he intends to secure you going
\nforward? Why he did not do all I am doing, schools, uniforms? Ask him what
\nhe did with the bond he got? Ask him why he apologised to the whole world
\nand Nigerians for\u00a0 electing Jonathan? You cannot be one of us and go that
\nfar and expect there will be no consequences. You might not agree with
\nJonathan but\u00a0 It was wrong for him to have gone as far such\u00a0 that if\u00a0 God
\nfrom this small state gave us the\u00a0 presidency, he was the instrument of
\npeople to destroy the presidency. I know what Timipre Slyva is planning, I
\nknow he does\u00a0 not forgive people.<\/p>\n
Question:<\/p>\n
When re-elected into office, what are those things you\u00a0 would do which
\ncould not be accomplished in your first term?<\/p>\n
Answer:<\/p>\n
By the grace of God and by the support of the people, we have started a
\nlot of mega life changing projects. I came in here to make maximum impact
\nwithin the available resources and time.\u00a0 Unfortunately our finances
\ndropped precipitously. Last month we got N4.2b\u00a0 and after paying Sylvas
\nbond which we will keep paying every month till 2017 we manage to pay
\nsalaries, pensions. We cannot even pay allowances of people working with
\nus, and we are not alone, all states and even federal Government are
\naffected. Therefore the second term is to be dedicated to completion of
\nmost of these life changing projects that are almost at completion stage
\nbecause every project has a gestation period. People like to see magic
\nbecause of the energy we started with and because we had resources we were
\nputting everything in and now people think I am distracted. I am not, it
\nis a question of\u00a0 finances. Look at the airport, and ask Sylva why did he
\nnot do the airport. He played politics with everything, cleared a site and
\nput a signboard before the first block was laid and got an ailing
\npresident to come and commission it!<\/p>\n
Since I took over I have not fought Sylva, I just drew a line\u00a0 below his
\nabysmal record and did things differently. I am the one who has security
\nbackground. In our younger days I started as a police man and probably He
\nwas a subject of interest to the police even at that time so our
\nbackground is clear. We know how to fight but in the interest of peace I
\ndo not believe in using\u00a0 government powers to bring people down. Politics
\nis about using the power God gives us through the people to build and
\nchange lives .But for God\u2019s sake if you cannot help a man, leave him alone
\ndo not go and shoot him and his children.\u00a0 I know what happened to the
\nairport,\u00a0 not to talk of the Nembe- Brass road that so much money went
\ninto. You all know me and that is the difference between me and him. If
\nyou drive to Amassoma road\u00a0 now you will see the Airport. I have awarded
\nthe contract for the installation\u00a0 of the navigational instrument. FAAN
\nhas come to do the certification. In the next couple of months we will be
\nlanding there.<\/p>\n
I thought they said the flyover was built by the Federal Government but
\nnow they are not saying that anymore. Ask Sylva why he did not build a
\nstructure like that. He calls it monkey bridge. How many monkey bridges
\ndid he build?\u00a0 He could not dualize the Azikoro road that we finished and
\nthat is the road they are using, going about wielding brooms. There is
\nthe dualization of Isaac Boro road. Such big projects have a time line. So
\nif there is a shortfall within that period, the completion time elongates
\nnaturally.<\/p>\n
If you ask me about projects I will focus on, we need to complete these
\nprojects. Look at Igbogene bypass, That road is 35-36 kilometres. We have
\nalready done the bulk of the job. When you owe a contractor because of
\nwhat happened, contractors will leave and it is all over the country even
\nwith federal government jobs. So by the grace of God after the elections
\nGod willing, these are the things to complete. We will start certain
\nthings but they will be minimal because we want to finish all these ones
\nbecause they are almost 80% completed. Look at the Igbogene bride that
\nthey ply on, ask Sylva why he allowed those 1950 bridges to be there until
\nI came in. The bulk of that work is already done leaving just the sand
\nfilling of the second lane, so in 3-4 months that work is finished. That
\nis how to work for a people. We did not do that just to get praises.
\nNobody in APC can close their eyes and say we have not made any difference
\nbecause we have made a fundamental impact. Look at the Transparency
\nBuilding he started, but did not complete it. I have spent more money on
\nthose buildings than he did.. We are going to complete these life changing
\nprojects and then the schools, because that is where the real future of
\nour state is. By the time I finish this boarding policy, they will be the
\nbest. We must also do the fencing of those compounds and the teachers will
\nbe re-trained as the teachers training institute is set.<\/p>\n
You can imagine where Bayelsa will be with Governor Dickson in the next 2
\nyears with these projects finished. That is what Sylva cannot do because
\nhe does not have the discipline to manage lean resources. He does not have
\nthe vision and the passion and commitment. This job is not for \u2018guy men\u2019
\nbut for a country man who knows the people, shares their problems and
\nworks for them. If you like him because he fought his brother and you want
\nto reward him like Judas got 30 pieces of silver, no problem. If he is not
\ngood enough to be President Buhari\u2019s minister, then our message which we
\nmust send outon the5th of December to President Buhari and all the people
\nin INEC and military is that we Bayelsans say he is not good enough to be
\nour governor.<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/p>\n
What do you think will be the effect of the peace accord you signed with
\nthe other parties?<\/p>\n
Answer<\/p>\n
I signed because that was the right thing to do. My campaign is about
\npeace, development and prosperity. You hear me ask people\u00a0 to accord
\nSylva the respect that is due him. I am not a man of violence unlike
\nthose who are merchants of violence and cultism. I believe that a
\npolitical leader and anyone aspiring to lead people must show example and
\nour society can only develop when you have peace. We have been able to
\nachieve so much because of the prevailing peace and we want it to get
\nbetter.\u00a0 That is why our PDP campaign is not about promises of what we
\nwill do. I hear my good friend went to Lagos to unfold a four point
\nagenda, he did not even have the courtesy of unfolding it to BAyelsa
\npeople but he wanted Lagos people to give Bayelsa people a Governor that
\nis why he went to Lagos and it was his own few friends that were present.
\nWe are not perfect but we must try our best not to deliberately hurt our
\nfellow man. I am talking about peace, I educate Bayelsans and tell them
\ntheir rights to go and vote not with cloned PVCs. The police will arrest
\nthose with cloned PVCs. We do not need violence in the PDP to win any
\npolling unit, the supporters are there, they will vote, they will stay
\nthere and protect their votes. The votes will be counted and result will
\nbe declared. Luckily INEC has spoken up, law enforcement will be at every
\npolling unit, I have sensitized community leaders in every community so
\nnobody will come to any community to intimidate the overall community.
\nBesides this is one single election where the entire country will be
\nwatching. They do not know the dynamics of this election and my advice to
\nSylva is he should withdraw from the race because he is not campaigning
\nor talking about issues and our people have rejected him.<\/p>\n
I have a message for the one percent of our population in APC; please do
\nnot say we did not warn you, you do not have a candidate. Your candidate
\nis not electable. Bayelsa, the Ijaw land has no space for APC; that our
\npeople have confirmed to me during our tour. Nobody can intimidate the
\nIjaw people.\u00a0 Resist intimidation in your communities and wards. Some
\npeople have been winning elections without elections actually taking place
\nbut this is different, and nobody has power to carry materials to his
\nhouse as people used to do and announce results because this is a
\nPVC-based election.<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/p>\n
On a final note, what is message\u00a0 do you want to send out to all our
\ncommunities?<\/p>\n
Answer:<\/p>\n
My message is one of gratitude and appreciation to the communities,
\nchiefs and leaders and the good people. Women groups also were very
\nreceptive. I needed boats to transport the plantains, fish, snails and
\nother things they gave to me. I cannot thank them enough. I am really
\nhumbled and grateful that I have this opportunity to serve you. I have
\ntold them that after the election, having voted me in as they have
\npromised to do, I intend to go round and thank them.<\/p>\n
For the communities that I am yet to visit, Countryman is coming your way
\nso get ready to engage me. I am coming to see you problems and hear from
\nyou to know how to serve you better.<\/p>\n
To my good friend Sylva, let him engage me on the\u00a0 issues.I am looking
\nforward to an opportunity to debate his record of abysmal failure of
\nleadership, service and development to our people, failure of security
\nthat cost loss of lives when he was governor and I hope he accepts that
\noffer of a debate.<\/p>\n
To our people, thank you very much for your support and encouragement.
\nContinue to stand by the PDP, continue to vote PDP and stand by me as you
\nhave done. We are determined to serve you. The Ijaw national interest
\ndemands that we stand together right now and not allow ourselves to be
\ndistracted or divided because of small benefits and promises which they
\nwill not fulfil. We are not perfect but we are better off working
\ntogether. So to you Bayelsans I say together we are marching forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fresh from one leg of his campaign tour of communities in Bayelsa where he recorded rapturous receptions,\u00a0 Gov Henry Seriake Dickson fielded questions from the media on the forthcoming governorship…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n