You Lied — Governor Dickson Blasts Sylva

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state has denied statements by the All Progressives Congress (APC) alleging that he was planning to raise fresh loan, which it said was meant to execute the forthcoming governorship election slated for December 5 in the state.

A statement by the director of media and publicity of the Sylva-Igiri campaign organization, Chief Nathan Egba, had claimed that the government was about to raise a N12 billion loan for the purpose of the Bayelsa governorship election which he said would throw the state into further debt. But in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 27, by the chief press secretary to the governor, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, it was disclosed that the purported claim of fresh loan was misplaced and a clear mischief on the part of the opposition party in the state. According to him, rather than looking for a new loan, the Bayelsa state government was only drawing from an existing loan facility that had since been approved for the airport project it said was at 60% level of completion. He said it was unfortunate that the Sylva campaign was raising the issue of loan, saying that the APC candidate and his campaign officials should be ashamed of their past in such regard. The statement slammed Timipre Sylva for plunging the state into huge debts running into N432 billion under his watch as governor. The press secretary lauded Governor Dickson over what he described as prudent management of resources. He said that such management had made it possible for the state to witness the huge infrastructure and other development projects in the last three and half years. The statement said Sylva’s profligacy as governor ranked Bayelsa state as one of the most indebted states in Nigeria. It said that now the state’s status reversed under the Dickson-led administration, which had since serviced the debt to a manageable level of N90 billion naira and thereby making the state now one of the least indebted states in the country. It said: “Under Sylva, there was routine diversion of funds meant for payment of civil servants’ salaries and benefits. A whopping N300 billion agriculture loan from the World Bank had no tangible effect in the state. Where were the projects established or farms set up or the fisheries development as proposed under the loan? “What happened to the N3 billion MDG funds made available to Sylva? It is unfortunate that Sylva left a legacy of a crippling debt profile in Bayelsa state as governor. As a matter of fact, the bond obligation of the state totaled N125 billion under Timipre Sylvia’s administration.” Meanwhile, as the APC commences work to woo members of the People Democratic Party, Sylva dismissed allegations that his party was planning to rig the governorship election which comes up in about a month’s time.