BAYELSA 2015: Dickson seeks free, fair, credible poll

PDP flags off campaign Oct 17

By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has fixed October 17 as the flag off date for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign in the state.

Dickson, who stated this at a meeting he held with political appointees and party leaders at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Yenagoa, yesterday, said his landmark achievements across the state would speak and campaign for him.

Citing the on going Sagbama-Ekeremor Road as one of the star projects embarked upon by his administration, the governor stressed that, the opposition party does not stand a chance in the forthcoming election as it cannot boast of any political structure in the state.

Gov Dickson

He called on the Federal Government and its agencies to ensure a credible, free and fair election on December 5, just as the PDP-led government, under the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, established the institutions that made President Muhammadu Buhari a major beneficiary.

The governor alleged that certain people are planning to take over Jonathan’s state by all means and expressed optimism that Buhari will not allow such undemocratic act to take place.

He  urged Bayelsans not to be misled by the opposition, pointing out  that his administration had set the standards that eradicated politically motivated killings and other forms of electoral violence in the state.

The governor further charged PDP leaders and other stakeholders to mobilize and educate  people in every unit, community and local government on the need to ensure that their votes count.

His words: “Gather yourselves in every unit, community, ward, local government, mobilize yourselves and vote and protect your votes. Your votes will be counted. I want you to take this message home.

Concerns over revenues

Meanwhile, Dickson has expressed concern over the steady decline in the revenues from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

The governor spoke while speaking at a lecture/dinner organized as part of the activities commemorating the 55th independence anniversary of the country and 19 years of the creation of Bayelsa State at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Yenagoa.

According to him, the state received N6.2 billion in August and the amount from the previous month dropped to N5.6 billion occasioned by the sharp reduction in prices of crude oil in the international market.

His words, “The last report we got was that our allocation has dropped from N6.2 billion for last month, to about N5.6 billion for this month. This shows the challenges that our state is grappling with. But, we are not alone. Whereas, many states cannot even, meet their basic obligations, we in this state, are still carrying on. As a matter of fact, I have again instructed that salaries be paid as from Monday next week.

“But this is coming with a lot of cost and sacrifices. You can imagine what would have happened, if we didn’t experience this drastic and sudden drop in our revenue, Bayelsa would have been something else. But we are still not despondent. We are hopeful that with our a focused team on board and by the grace of God, revenues will improve and we will again work together to take our state to the next level.’’