Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson is not somebody that holds back his feeling on any issue.
As far as he is concerned, there are issues that should be insulated from politics. And these include respect for the President, Niger Delta matters, partnering to revive the economy and working concertedly for the good of the country.
On the continued wobbling of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Dickson insisted that the solution to the party’s problem is in sight but argued that the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not qualify to be called a political party.
The governor spoke on other issues including how his government got to the point of not being able to pay workers’ salaries, his relationship with President Buhari, the focus of his administration and his legacies.
In the past couple of months you have had to deal with a number of challenges – recession, courts, workers’ salaries, paying counterpart funds for provision of water to 200 communities being driven by EU and UNICEF. What have you made of these challenges? Secondly, have you received the funds recently made to some states by the Federal Government?
They have selected 200 communities in Bayelsa, principally in two local government areas to provide a lot of things. The EU, UNICEF and world bank are contributing about N700 million and the state government is putting N422 million. In other words, we are actually bearing the cost of about 35 per cent of the project. The key thing is not what they are providing; I am more interested in their technical expertise that they are bringing to the table . I have told them that they need to expand it because I want more communities to benefit.
The problem with Bayelsa is that while we have water everywhere, we rarely have water to drink . Some of the water is in salt water area and we need to desalinate. So, out of a number of communities that really have that challenge, government selected some land locked communities to provide water. We have done that. I think this effort will go a long way and that is why I told them that I will be willing if they can create another counterpart funding for provision of potable water in more communities this year.
I know that states are finding it difficult to meet the contributions but in Bayelsa, we are willing because of the cause we are pursuing. We are willing to look for money to start another one so that again, a minimum of 200 or 250 more communities can benefit.
I want, within the next three years, to see every community, no matter how small, enjoy access to safe drinking water . Sometimes, the situation communities live in is very bad that they drink water from stagnant pools. Sometimes the water is infected. We have cases of perennial cholera and drainages with pollution along water ways. There are a lot of things going on and that is why we are very committed to that and we appreciate the partnership.
Talking about how we have been managing the recession, it has been very rough. 2015/2016 have been trying years. You can imagine for states that were getting N17 billion, N16 billion but in the two years we have had a situation where in some months, we could hardly get even N1.5 billion. I remember specifically January 2016, what we had was over just one billion after servicing the bond obligations that my predecessor incurred which we are still servicing and the other facilities. So, we couldn’t pay salaries. For the first four years, we never owed salaries for a month. But from 2015, the problems started. And when you combine recession with a highly contested election with litigation all the way from the lowest tribunal to the highest court, then you can imagine how wonderful a period this has been for me, for the government and for the state. But we thank God for the trials, for the tribulations but most importantly for the triumphs.
Now we are managing salary issues for the state workers. I must commend public servants, my appointees for their understanding. A lot of critical jobs since 2016 have had to be on the standby unfortunately. Big ticket jobs like road have not been easy. You know constructing roads down there is not like what happens in most places. You have to first create the land, sometimes 50, 60 per cent of the cost. You have to sand fill, you bring big dredgers, they create a land.
We really go through a lot. Some of those big ticket projects, we have completed them. But a number of them are ongoing, some completely stalled. We hope and pray that the economy picks up. It is showing some positive signs but we are still way behind judging from where we are coming from at a point when a barrel of crude oil was sold for $110 and we came down to as low as just over $30. Now, gradually, we are building up to latest analysis of about 54 . We don’t know how long that will last but we just have to pray for our country. But 2015 and 2016 were very tough for states and for the country as a whole.
Talking about whether we received any refund, our state because of the transparency regime that we have constituted, immediately we received the money the following day, we addressed the press telling the state what we have received. It was from that announcement that a lot of people even in other states knew that such thing was happening . In Bayelsa, the transparent system we have instituted is such that any kobo coming into the state has to be announced. The people of state must know and we have kept faith with that law. We are aware that the consequences are also very severe and we deliberately include the consequences like that.
We received N14.5 billion and part of it is for the local government. Our local government has about N1.3 billion from that sum . So, about N13.2 billion for the states and N1.3bn for the local government. There is no secrecy in the management of public finances in our state. We are hoping to get more refunds. We have used, in line with understanding that was reached, almost 60 per cent of what we received to pay salaries and pension liabilities. We have actually used about N7.4 billion out of that to pay salary obligations and pension arrears especially because of the Christmas festivities. We decided to pay full salaries to encourage and to appreciate workers and their families and also make it easy for them to manage the Christmas period. We have no issues with anybody about that.
From your vantage position, would you say the Federal Government is disposed to meeting the agitation and demands of Niger Delta in a manner that lasting peace can be restored to the region? Secondly, how do you think the current challenges faced by your party, PDP can be addressed? What is your take on the landslide that recently took place in your state?
We have always been very concerned about the issues of protection of the environment especially the fragile environment, the ecosystem of the Niger Delta. I got the brief and I asked the deputy governor to go and assess the place personally. This is about the second time we are experiencing this within a few months. So, we are very concerned and we hope that the relevant agencies will work with us. I will write a formal letter to the appropriate agencies and the minister of environment so that appropriate studies can be carried out so that we know exactly where we are on environment. The second question raised about the need for peace and stability in the Niger Delta to enable oil production to be maximized and therefore increase the capacity of government to meet their obligations is key. If you are talking of raising trillions to fund the federal budget, peace in the Niger Delta is inevitable. The budgets of both FG and all states are predicated on oil revenue. So, we must be concerned about what happens to the source of that money. It is an issue which everybody should be concerned about.
We at the Niger Delta, particularly my colleagues and I, we are all individually trying our best. Bayelsa is one of the safest states in the country, clearly one of the most stable states in the Niger Delta even though historically, it is the epicentre of these crisis. But because of the efforts we have made and the collaborations we have made possible and continued to service and encourage, there is no doubt Bayelsa is going to be safe. We will continue to double our efforts to invest more on security, peace building and consensus building. All of these take some level of partnership and collaboration. So, while we governors try our best, while elders like Edwin Clark and others are trying their best, security agencies are doing their best, community leaders are doing their best, we also expect the political leadership at the centre to also appreciate these challenges, follow up and build understanding, promote dialogue and peace building.
Unfortunately not much is happening from the federal side. I am not saying they are not concerned, they are because they also know the implications. Part of the reasons our country went into recession was because of the crisis in the Niger Delta. So, I know they are all concerned and I am aware that the vice president will be visiting the region very soon too. We all support that endeavour for people to go and see the real issue of the Niger Delta. But in all, we will like to see more commitments and more proactive engagements by the Federal Government and their various agencies because the issues concerning the Niger Delta revolve essentially around security and stability and development and the need to expand economic opportunities.
For me, we will continue to keep Bayelsa safe and protect strategic assets to enable production take place. I know that my colleagues are doing the same. All we ask is that the federal agencies should be more sensitive, should show greater commitment and be more proactive. I can’t recount how many times president Obasanjo and his national security team led by Aliyu Gusau convened different conferences and meetings at different levels. I remember immediately after his election, the first place Obasanjo went to was Warri, Port Harcourt and held different meetings. And in every major development, the President would be calling the governor(s) direct. The national security team was calling. So, even though there were challenges, there was a regular meeting of minds by the leaderships. There has to be a corresponding partnership and support. We want more collaboration. In the end, we are going to work to address most of the issues. What we have on our hands are long standing challenges and issues; the issues of lack of development, the issues of environment, the issues of economic exclusion. But the most important thing is confidence building and keeping hope alive and seeing and making concrete efforts; I think more of it should go on.
On the issue of our party, in spite of the challenges in Africa’s largest party, the other party is not yet a party. They are learning to be one, let us pray, we pray for strong parties to evolve. We need a strong party in government, cohesive party in government and we also need a strong and cohesive party as opposition. It is not in the interest of the party in government for the PDP to disintegrate or be in perpetual crisis. That realization should be there that it is in the interest of the country, it is also in the interest of the APC and its leaders that the PDP does not die or does not implode. You hear all kinds of talks about new parties, mega parties and we know the direction most of the noise is coming from. But I need so say that we are concerned about developments in the party and personally, as chairman of the reconciliation committee and someone who interacts with the long range of leadership of our party from across this country, there are indications that very soon, with the efforts of top leaders of the party, we will have some way forward.
Some people from the region have accused the incumbent administration of moving against former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Do you see any sense in the allegation that Jonathan is being persecuted?
I am not the spokesman of former President Jonathan. I am the governor of Bayelsa State. President Jonathan is from my state no doubt. Jonathan is an elder brother, someone we regard as a leader and as a former President of our country; he deserves all respect, he deserves to be treated with respect and to be given a fair treatment even as a private citizen that he has now become.
As President, Jonathan said, we need to be careful about commenting on some of these processes because a number of them are just unfolding, a number of them have not really been taken to their logical conclusion for things to be proven in one way or the other. We should be very careful about that. Talking generally, not just about President Jonathan and his family, I feel that the perception that some of the policies of the present government are selective or are targeted at some persons at some section should be watched by government. It is inimical to a number of reforms that the Federal Government is doing, that perception should be addressed. It may just be a perception and probably not real.
But perception is also as important as realities. That should be addressed.
Like every leader, he and his family should be treated with decorum and respect that they rightly deserve. Let us see how things play out, there should be less sensationalism. This country with time will appreciate the kind of sacrifice and service that Jonathan’s presidency did. Jonathan as a person tried his best and particularly in the area of application of public authority, he never used his public authority to harm anybody and we must appreciate his contributions to the democratic process.
You can see what is happening in Gambia now. The country is in crisis. For some of us, with time , when our memoir comes out, people will know the rules and some of the difficult decisions that people have to take in the national interest . I think that overall, I am somebody who believes that leaders should be respected generally. We can disagree, in fact we need to disagree more and agree in the common national interest.
On the 14th of February you will clock one year in your second term. Given what happened during the election, what is the relationship between you and your opponent, Timipre Sylva?
For politicians, during elections we are fighting for hearts and minds and we do everything legitimate within the ethical boundaries to win. I think the APC thought they were going to run roughshod over us in Bayelsa, I think they met their match, they met a rock; the people of Bayelsa and I stood still. God also was on our side. For me, elections are over, unfortunately he went to tribunal which I thought was another misguided move and this is why I want to appreciate the political leaders in Ondo State, to, particularly appreciate my friend Jegede and appreciate Mimiko and the leaders, Jimoh Ibrahim, all of them are all my friends. I appreciate their maturity in saying no, we will not challenge this election. Even with what he did, I won seven local governments out of eight and yet I went through all the whole gamut of the court processes- tribunal, court of appeal, supreme court . And people were trying to play fast ones, trying to politicize everything, intimidate people but it didn’t work by the Grace of God. I made a statement soon after the elections and the court particularly the supreme court, that my hands were open for collaboration. I have APC members appointed into my government, I don’t know of any PDP member appointed in the Federal Government. I have several APC members in the government of Bayelsa State in one form or the other because after elections, we should be talking about the state. – Culled from The Sun.
