Prof. Steve Azaiki, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a member of the Federal House of Representatives, Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency, has directed Bayelsans to apply for the Federal Civil Service Recruitment on the website, rather than calling him on his phone line.
In a post on Thursday, which has been deleted, the federal lawmaker said: “Federal Civil Service Recruitment: Please apply, I promised to let you know of opportunities and productive information that will come my way. Please do not call my phone on this, rather go through the website and apply.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), from 2001 to 2019.
The president gave the directive when he received governors of the states in the Niger Delta area, led by Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, on Thursday in Abuja.
President Buhari said the directive had become imperative in view of the persistent criticisms of the operations of the commission.
According to him, what is presently on ground in the Niger Delta region does not justify the huge resources that have been made available to the commission.
He said: “I try to follow the Act setting up these institutions, especially the NDDC.
“With the amount of money that the Federal Government has religiously allocated to the NDDC, we will like to see the results on the ground; those that are responsible for that have to explain certain issues.
“The projects said to have been done must be verifiable. You just cannot say you spent so many billions and when the place is visited, one cannot see the structures that have been done.
“The consultants must also prove that they are competent,’’ he said.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has joined traditional rulers in Bayelsa state in raising alarm over weapons being stockpiled in the state ahead of the November 16 governorship election.
“Bayelsa state is being transformed to a war zone ahead of the election. Governor Seriake Dickson has seen clearly that defeat is imminent for his candidate and has now resorted to deploy violence to force his will on the people.” Nabena told newsmen Thursday in Abuja during his regular media interaction.
“Recently, traditional rulers in Bayelsa state reported to INEC on the arms stockpile in the state which is happening on the watch of the current state government. As the INEC chairman stated, traditional rulers don’t belong to any political party, and they don’t support any candidate, so our security agencies cannot afford to fold their hand on this, we must take their reports very seriously. We have a duty to protect INEC and the voters to ensure free and safe elections,” he said.
The Bayelsa-born APC chieftain called on heads of security agencies to closely monitor the operations of their personnel in the state before and during the governorship election.
“Coupled with the state security outfit, Operation Doo Akpo which Governor Dickson is using to harass political opponents in his party PDP and APC members, supporters and leaders in the state ahead of the governorship election, the Governor has also boasted openly that he has the money pay the police and army, including their retirement benefits if they work for him in the elections. He has gone ahead to set up an army and police base in his village. (Toru-Orua). The Inspector General of Police and Chief of Army Staff must not allow this happen.
“Which money is Governor Dickson relying on to rig the election? It is the federal allocation meant for Bayelsans. I call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and particularly the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to monitor deployment of Bayelsa funds.” He said.
Nabena said the people of Bayelsa are ready to defend their votes and reject the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate and Governor Dickson’s stooge.
“The popular APC candidacy of David Lyon has thrown the camp of governor dickson into disarray. The recent wave of high profile defections from the PDP to the APC is clear proof that the wind of change is blowing across the state. Governor Dickson’s rigging and intimidation plans will fail because Bayelsans are ready to defend their votes.” He said.
When asked about the chances of APC considering that the ruling PDP in the state has been in power since 1999, the APC deputy spokesman said Bayelsans are currently rooting for change.
“This coming governorship election in Bayelsa state is not about being in power for years, its about people saying they are tired of inefficient and lack of development that has dragged the state backward. The people want change and they are ready to embrace APC fully in this November 16th governorship election,” the APC chieftain said.
Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) wednesday in Abuja approved N3 billion for the construction of oil and gas parks in Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa States. It also approved N2.413 billion to provide indoor shooting range for aviation security.
Briefing reporters at the end of the weekly FEC meeting, Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva, said the construction of the parks was conceived to support the development and manufacture of oil and gas tools.
According to him, the move will not only provide 1,000 jobs but will also improve the security of the Niger Delta.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sum of N10 billion Naira for an Intervention fund for the upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
The Nigerian president on his Twitter handle on Thursday said: “I have the assurance of the Minister of Aviation that the work will be done speedily and to the highest standards.
“Even as we have many items competing for our limited resources, we will continue to prioritize infrastructure investments in every part of the country. It is our responsibility to ensure Nigeria’s infrastructure is fixed; we will keep doing this.”
I have approved the sum of 10 billion Naira for an Intervention fund for the upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu. I have the assurance of the Minister of Aviation that the work will be done speedily and to the highest standards.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had last month commenced the rehabilitation of the runway at the airport.
South-East governors on Monday resolved to meet President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss the welfare of the region, rehabilitation of the Akanu Ibiam international airport, among other issues.
The governors resolved to meet with President Buhari following fears that the closed Enugu airport could be abandoned.
The airport was closed on February 10, 2010, by FAAN for the first phase of major renovation and expansion works. The airport was re-opened on 16 December 2010.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has advocated a uniform implementation of a harmonised Ballast Water Management region in the world. The NIMASA DG added that the approach to compliance, monitoring and enforcement should also be harmonized, Tribune Online reports.
The director-general stated this at the regional workshop on the Ballast Water Management Convention (2004) for Anglophone and Central African countries, held recently in Lagos. According to the NIMASA DG, “ Now that the Convention has entered into force, there is an urgent need for uniform implementation of a harmonised Ballast Water Management regime around the world
“There should also be a harmonised approach to compliance, monitoring and enforcement as it is the crucial part of it.
“Furthermore, port biological baselines surveys and risk assessments represent key aspects of implementing the convention and ensuring the protection of the environment, property and resources in your respective countries.”
Dakuku noted that Nigeria has taken steps to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention, urging other countries to accede to the ratification process.
“Nigeria being among the first five countries to ratify the convention has taken giant steps in effective implementation. Among such steps include the development and gazetting of regulations on Ballast Water Management pursuant to the Nigerian Merchant Shipping Act 2007; Development of an Enforcement and Implementation Manual on Ships Ballast Water and so many others.
“The Ballast Water Management Convention was adopted in 2004 to minimize the risk of species invasion via Ballast water and the Convention entered into force just over two years ago.
“As of today, 81 countries have ratified the convention, representing more than 80 percent of the total world tonnage and we know that other countries are currently in the ratification process, Dakuku added.
Again, the Federal Government and the organised labour could not reach a truce over the consequential adjustment of the N30, 000 new national minimum wage after a ten-hour meeting.
The meeting started at 4:00pm on Wednesday and ended in the wee hours of Thursday, at 2:00am.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige however stated that both sides have made some progress, adding that “we’re giving some people on both sides assignment to go and do the work and get back to us.”
“The work is enormous. So, we’re giving them the entire day to get back to us. We don’t want to make mistakes that could put the whole exercise we’ve done in jeopardy.”
“Therefore we’ve agreed that we’ll reconvene this meeting at 7:00pm today (Thursday)”
The President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba confirmed the development saying progress has been made in the negotiation.
He said that” Some committees need to do some work. You can see that they have worked up to the early hours of today, that is, in the true spirit of collective bargaining, which is ‘give and take’ and that is what we’re trying to do and ensure that we get the process concluded”
Responding to whether workers should remain at home or embark on the industrial action, he said” You can see that the meeting is adjourned, collective bargaining is still in progress, that is not our practice to embark on strike while bargaining is still on”
Timipre Sylva with the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Nigeria.
The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, H.E. Chief Timipre Sylva received H.E. Abdulaziz Al-Bisher, the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Nigeria.
The Ambassador expressed his optimism that the continued bilateral relations between both Nations will be solidified with the progress of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP).
Chief Sylva stated that Nigeria as a Nation has the capacity to solve the subsisting energy poverty challenge in Africa as it has the largest natural gas reserves in the continent while noting that the NMGP project will directly increase energy access and availability to millions of Africans.
The Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has sympathised the family of a woman and her child who was burnt to death in a truck accident in Onitsha, the state capital, Channels Television reports.
Governor Obiano has directed owners of properties affected by the tragic accident, including shop owners, to report at the Conference Room of the Secretary to the State Government on Monday, October 21, 2019, see how the Anambra State Government can assist them.
The accident occurred on Wednesday when a tanker laden with premium motor spirit, popularly known as petrol, fell into a ditch and began to spill its contents. A ball of fire resulted from this incident and quickly spread.
Men of the Anambra State Fire Service arrived at the scene with their equipment but were unable to quench the inferno as the angry mob on the scene prevented other fire trucks, including one from neighbouring Asaba in Delta State, from getting to the scene.
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment Don Adinuba, said that a panel will be set up immediately to determine the cause of the accident, why the firemen could not put out the fire and how the condition of the victims can be ameliorated.
The governor also prayed for the repose of the souls of the woman and child who died in the accident. The Anambra State Government will assist their families in their burials.
The cardinal responsibility of any government is the security of the lives and properties of its citizens. The government must be limited, and there should be no room for self-enrichment, since we must assume that these people are in government because of their love for the people and state not due to their own desires for financial and political gain.
Sadly, in Governor Henry Seriake Dickson-led PDP government, there is no room for such a view. He has abysmally failed Bayelsans. Under his leadership, Bayelsans have suffered the highest level of emotional and psychological trauma.
The people of Bayelsa have experienced the highest level of criminality ranging from armed robbery, drug and cult wars, rapes, kidnapping etc. Due to poor level of security, lack of support, motivation from the government to the security agencies.
A large proportion of Bayelsans live in hunger, poverty and frustration, which has led to low self-esteem and inferiority complex.
Under Gov. Dickson, Bayelsans have experienced the highest level of Disunity and Division. Bayelsa State Civil Servants who were envied by their counterparts from other parts of the country are now wallowing in misery.
People who were breadwinners in their families, can no longer help their loved ones and other dependants.
The state is faced with so many challenges and it requires committed and dedicated leadership, leaders who will provide the basic amenities, rebuilld trust in government in order to make it easier for citizens to re-engage with their government.
Chief David Lyon have the requisite qualities, experience, exposure, discipline and the depth of commitment to provide the required leadership to the people of Bayelsa.
A vote for the PDP would be a vote for the perpetuity of unbridled larceny in governance, as Sen. Douye Diri would unfailingly continue with the looting spree of governor Dickson.
A vote for the David Lyon would usher in the reign of peace and security of lives and properties, as Chief David Lyon is a security expert who has over the years ensured the security of oil installations in the state. This has in turn, greatly increased the earnings of the state which unfortunately, have not been judiciously used to the benefits of Bayelsans. With David Lyon as governor, Bayelsans can go to bed with their both eyes closed.
For a better Bayelsa, David Lyon is the right choice
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has joined traditional rulers in Bayelsa state in raising alarm over weapons being stockpiled in the state ahead of the November 16 governorship election.
