Yenagoa—A group, Bayelsa West Congress has commended the former Governor of Bayelsa State and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Chief Seriake Dickson for working with Governor Douye Diri and other Bayelsa leaders in retrieving the state’s oil wells.
The group which condemned allegations made against Dickson over the administration of the state’s oil wells knocked the National Chairman of the Niger Delta Nonviolence Agitators Forum (NDNAF), Comrade Wisdom Ikuli for what they described as false claims against the Senator.
In a statement released on Thursday, the group stated that Dickson is not a businessman and therefore has no personal interests in the Bayelsa Oil fields apart from the general interest of the State.
“When one of the oil wells Atala OML 46 was shut down last year, it was Senator Dickson who called Timipre Sylva on phone for the first time in a long time to complain about why an oil field belonging to Bayelsa State was canceled.
“The Minister of State for Petroleum clarified to Senator Dickson that it was not just Atala OML but all non-producing oil fields owned by other governments. This was publicly revealed in a statement by Senator Dickson,” the statement reads.
The group noted that someone with an interest in the oil wells will not act in that manner, instead the person would seek to take advantage of the situation.
While noting that Dickson has been supportive of Diri in his efforts to bring a solution to the matter by even accompanying the governor on his visit to the president on the issue, they added that Ikuli’s recent move is a malicious attempt to embroil the former governor into the controversial Atala matter.
The group alleged that “Bayelsans are already used to Wisdom Ikuli’s regular lies and lack of wisdom. It is yet another futile attempt by Ikuli and his paymasters to drag Senator Dickson into their lies and blackmail.
“Bayelsans know that it is Ikuli’s paymasters who canceled the Atala OML46 and gave the contract to their friends and business associates and not Senator Dickson who doesn’t have the power to do so.”
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They opined that Rivers State is currently receiving the derivation funds of the Atala oil well going by what Governor Nyesom Wike said last week.
“As Governor, Senator Dickson fought to win the Oluasiri/Nembe/Soku oil well cases at the Supreme Court against the Rivers State government in 2013 led by then Gov. Rotimi Amaechi.
“Up until Senator Dickson left office as Governor, Bayelsa was collecting the derivation’s funds from the Oluasiri/Nembe/Soku oil well.
“What has Ikuli and his employers done to safeguard the Nembe-Oluasiri fortune that Wike has reclaimed after Senator Dickson fought to get it back,” the group asked.
The group equally called on Governor Diri to speak up and clarify the issues.
“This administration is aware that Senator Seriake has no involvement in the Atala oil well controversy, but certain people inside its sphere of influence are happy to propagate false information about him and subject him to blackmail.
“It is quite disappointing that there are problems that cannot be attributed to him, as he has done everything in his reach to clarify the already existing issues to foster greater understanding with the governor,” the statement added.
