Dickson: Sylva collected N847bn in five years with nothing to show for it

Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, on Thursday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Timipre Sylva, collected N847 billion from the Federation Account in five years he was governor as against N599 billion his administration received less than four years and as such Sylva had no reason to have under-developed the state as he met it.
Disclosing this during a live interview programme in Yenagoa, the governor said this amount was in addition to the bond and bank loans secured by the Sylva’s administration but were not utilized for the purposes they were collected.
He said that in spite of the challenge of the repayment of the loan, bond and other financial commitments by the Sylva administration, eating deep into the state’s finances, the present administration has been able to put in place enduring legacies in terms of infrastructure.
He assured the people of his readiness to improve on his first term achievements, noting that in the last three and half years, his administration has built several roads, particularly the three senatorial roads, construction of bridges including the first flyover, building of schools with boarding facilities in all the senatorial districts and provision of health facilities.
With these achievements put in place, the governor said he has raised the bar in the provision of good governance, accountability and financial prudence, adding that Bayelsa remains one of the few states in the country still living up to its responsibility.
“As I am talking to you now, I have directed the Ministry of Finance to commence the payment of November salary to civil servants and political appointees tomorrow.”
On why he is seeking re-election, the governor said it was to consolidate on his first term achievements and called on the people of the state to turn out en masse on Saturday and vote for the PDP to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy.
Dickson said the people have the opportunity to vote for peace and security, pointing out that his record of service is before the people just as the antecedents of the APC candidate, Sylva, are also known by all.
He warned youths against being used to foment trouble during the election, saying his administration is closely monitoring the activities of some people in the state, stressing that anybody caught in perpetrating criminal activities including cloning of Permanent Voter Cards, use of fake card readers and other related offences would be prosecuted in accordance with the Electoral Act.
Reeling out his programmes for the civil servants and pensioners, the governor said in spite of the huge allocations received by Sylva while in office, he left behind huge unpaid pension arrears.
He said that his administration would proffer lasting solution to the clearance of pension arrears that is now over N10bn, adding that Sylva created the problem.
He added that if given the chance for a second term in office, his administration would concentrate on capacity building which include training and re-training of workers as well as provision of low cost housing and implementation of the civil service health insurance scheme.