News

Dickson Says His Shoes ‘ll Be Too Big For His Successor, Preaches Patriotism

Published

6 years ago

January 19, 2020

Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, has said he would be leaving behind a very big shoes for his successor after eight years of sustained efforts to develop the state.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Soriwei Fidelis quoted Dickson as saying this while speaking with newsmen shortly after commissioning the Bayelsa Golf Course at the Tourism Island in Yenagoa.

According to the governor, the Restoration Government under his leadership had laid a solid foundation for any patriotic leadership to further the developmental aspirations of the state.

He said the state needed concentrated-developmental action having been created from the most deprived and least developed part of old Rivers State.

The governor who listed some of his administration’s big ticket projects to include the Bayelsa International Airport, the 18-hole Golf Course adjudged by many as one of the best in the country, the Polo Club, among many others in education, health, agriculture, expressed the confidence that posterity would be fair to him.

“This is the first time we are having a golf course, so when some governors who have everything built for them by Federal Government and by the whole country, over hundred years, talk, they don’t seem to understand what we are struggling to do here.

“My advice to the incoming government will be to nurture and support these dreams. These are not dreams that ordinary people can immediately relate with. So I want to tell those coming behind, I have tried my best; if there are things they don’t understand, of course I will be available to explain and advise; it’s not ordinary when you see a governor converting a building he could have stayed with his family and turn it to a hotel, and that has been done”, he added.

Accroding to the governor, his administration has raised the bar of performance for succeeding governments by making deliberate, painstaking sacrifices and ambitious investments in the interest of the state.

He said virtually all the ambitious projects in the state were initiated and completed by his administration unlike what obtains in other states which were created earlier and developed by the Federal Government.

Dickson restated the need for the incoming government to make continuity and patriotism its watchword with a view to moving the state forward.

Underscoring the peculiarities of Bayelsa, the Governor expressed satisfaction with his achievements in office, noting, however, that no government could completely tackle the development needs of a state or country in four or eight years.

Dickson who decried the long period of neglect the state suffered in the hands of the Federal Government, promised to continually contribute towards the common good of the state.

PHOTO: File

News

EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show

Published

1 hour ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has condemned the actions of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, who was recently spotted participating in a matchmaking programme on social media platforms hosted by popular entertainer Lege Miami.

The agency has ordered his immediate arrest for retaining official EFCC property, including an identity card, following his dismissal for certificate forgery.

The anti-graft agency, in a statement on its official X handle on Monday, said Folarin served as a driver at the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Directorate.

He was, however, dismissed after investigations confirmed he had forged his academic credentials.

It said, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, condemned in the strongest terms, the involvement of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, in a matchmaking programme running on Lege Miami social media platforms.”

“Folarin was recently dismissed from the Commission for certificate forgery. He was a driver at the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.”

The statement said EFCC Executive Chairma,n Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered Folarin to be arrested and emphasised that Folarin’s actions should not be associated with the commission.

“The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered his arrest for being in possession of some Commission’s properties, including an identity card, which he should have handed over upon being dismissed from the EFCC.

“The public is advised against associating Folarin’s post-dismissal conduct with the EFCC,” the statement concluded.

News

NERC Transfers Regulation Of Electricity Market To Bayelsa

Published

2 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has transferred regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State to the Bayelsa Electricity Regulatory Agency.

In a notice on its social media handles on Monday, the commission said this was in compliance with the amended 1999 Constitution and the Electricity Act 2023.

“In compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued an order to transfer regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State from the Commission to the Bayelsa State Electricity Regulatory Agency,” the commission said.

Recall that with the Electricity Act 2023, the commission retains the role as a central regulator with regulatory oversight on the interstate/international generation, transmission, supply, trading, and system operations.

The Act also mandates any state that intends to establish and regulate intrastate electricity markets to deliver a formal notification of its processes and requests NERC to transfer regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the state regulator.

The transfer order by NERC directed Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc to incorporate a subsidiary distribution company to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Bayelsa State from PHED.

PHED was also directed to complete the incorporation of PHED SubCo within 60 days from August 21, 2025.

“The subcompany shall apply for and obtain a licence for the intrastate supply and distribution of electricity from BYERA, among other directives,” the commission said.

It concluded that all transfers envisaged by the order shall be completed by February 20, 2026.

With this order, Bayelsa has joined states like Lagos, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu, Niger, Edo, Oyo and Plateau, which have got the power to regulate electricity markets.

The state can now generate, transmit, and distribute electricity while issuing licences to investors within the value chain.

News

Things To Know As INEC Begins Physical Voter Registration Monday

Published

2 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Independent National Electoral Commission commenced the physical, in-person phase of its 2025 Continuous Voter Registration exercise across Nigeria today, Monday, August 25.

This follows the online pre-registration that commenced on August 18, 2025.

In an update on its X handle on Monday, the commission provided details of the schedule, locations, and eligibility of voters.

INEC said in-person registration will run Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, and urged eligible Nigerians to complete their registration at INEC state or local government offices in their area.

The commission said those eligible to register or update their details include:

New voters aged 18 and above who have not registered before.

Holders needing to replace lost or damaged Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Voters seeking to transfer their registration to a new location.

People who need to update or correct their voter information (name, address, etc.).

The electoral umpire asked registrants who completed online pre-registration to proceed to their INEC State Head Office or LGA office to finalise the process.

The commission also published a list of registration centres on its official portal.