DICKS 2012 ELECTION CAMPAIGN SPEECHES is a compilation of selected extempore remarks, and the first of a trilogy, by Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
ON In this book, the reader will encounter the robustness of Governor Dickson's DICKSON remarks delivered extempore with striking ability to inspire and engage its audience in a manner that is most compelling. Governor Dickson is an orator of a different hue. He speaks authoritatively with penetrating intellectual depth typical of most great leaders in the world, both past and present. 2012 ELECTION CAMPAIGN SPEECHES 2012 ELECTION CAMP The restoration agenda unveiled to lead is to serve GOVERNOR HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON A PROFILE
Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State in Nigeria has, by his performance in office, underscored the critical role of leadership in strategic restructuring and effective governance.
He has changed the face of development, sanitized the polity, and encouraged participatory governance. The emerging economic prosperity in Bayelsa is a product of vision and courage.
Dickson, 48, is an exceptional leader whose foresight on the diversification
of the state’s economy beyond oil and gas to focus more on tourism and AIGN SPEECHES agriculture holds great promise of economic boom.
A lawyer, former Attorney-General of Bayelsa State and member of the National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007 and re-elected in 2011, where he served as the Chairman, House Committee on Justice.
His star was further on the rise when he was elected governor of Bayelsa State by popular acclamation later in 2012. He has been an agent of positive change, challenged the status quo and re-invented the architecture of Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson governance in a peaceful and resourceful environment. Governor of Bayelsa State
DICKSON 2012 ELECTION CAMPAIGN SPEECHES
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED TO LEAD IS TO SERVE
Compiled and Revised by: Daniel IworisoMarkson Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor
Edited by: Sully Abu Dr. Jeane e Gibson
ISBN: 9789789380008
© 2014 Henry Seriake Dickson
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system or transmi ed in any form or by any means without prior wri en permission from the publisher CONTENTS
WHY VICTORY IS CERTAIN Remarks during Hon. Seriake Dicksonʹs submission of his governorship nomination form at the PDP secretariat 5
FROM THE RUINS OF THE OLD, A NEW BAYELSA BECKONS Acceptance speech following victory at the Peoplesʹ Democratic Party gubernatorial primaries 6
HOISTING THE FLAG Remarks by Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson on the occasion of the formal presentation to him of the PDP governorship flag 8
A RUNNING MATE, A GOOD HELMSMAN Brief remarks by Hon. Seriake Dickson at the formal presentation of his running mate for the 2012 governorship race in Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (Rtd) 10
A CALL TO DUTY Remarks to members of the ʹKeme to Kemeʹ campaign group 12
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 02 VOTE FOR CHANGE Address at a campaign rally at Ogbia town, headquarters of Ogbia local government area 13
THE MAKING OF A NEW BAYELSA Remarks at a meeting with chiefs and leaders of Ogbia in Ogbia town, as part of the PDP gubernatorial campaign tour 15
CHANGE HAS COME TO BAYELSA Speech at the PDP gubernatorial campaign rally in Nembe 18
Remarks during the campaign visit to the Bassambiri, Nembe 22
WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICE Remarks at a campaign rally at the King Koko Square in Ogbolomabiri, Nembe 25
Speech during a courtesy visit on His Royal Majesty, King Alfred DieteSpiff, Amayanabo of TwonBrass, during a campaign visit to TwonBrass 27
WE WILL NOT LET OUR PEOPLE DOWN Remarks at the PDP gubernatorial campaign rally in TwonBrass 46
WE WILL TAKE BAYELSA TO NEW HEIGHTS Remarks at the campaign rally in Okpoama community in Brass local government area 48
WE MUST RECLAIM OUR STATE Speech at a campaign rally at Akassa in Brass LGA 49
WE MUST WORK TOGETHER Remarks at the campaign rally in Nembe (Bassambiri) 51
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 03 WE WILL END THE VIOLENCE Remarks during a courtesy call on HRM King Malla Sasime JP, Obeni Ibe of Epie Kingdom before a campaign rally 52
YENAGOA WILL HAVE A HUGE MAKEOVER Remarks at a governorship campaign rally in Yenagoa 54
PDP, PARTY OF THE PEOPLE Remarks during a courtesy call on King WSJ Igbugburu, Ebenanaowei of Bomo clan in southern Ijaw LGA 56
TO BAYELSA WE BRING GOOD TIDINGS Speech at the PDP campaign rally in Oporoma, headquarters of southern Ijaw local government area 57
YOUR VOTE IS YOUR POWER TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS Remarks during visit to chiefs and elders of Ekeremor local government area 59
OUR STRUGGLE IS TO REDEEM BAYELSA Remarks at Ekeremor campaign ground 61
LET THE BALLOT BOX FIGHT FOR US Remarks at the palace of the Alei of Aleibiri in Ekeremor local government area 63
PDP HAS GIVEN THE IJAW A PLACE TO STAND Remarks at palace of the Ebedaowei of Kolokuma clan Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area 64
REMAKING BAYELSA: THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW A COUNTRYMAN REPORTS FOR DUTY Being the text of an address delivered by Hon Seriake Dickson on September 24, 2011 66
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 04 WHY VICTORY IS CERTAIN
Remarks during the submission of his governorship nomination form at the PDP secretariat in 2011
am running with the support of our people. I am running on the Istrength of the ideas I have come to expound. Bayelsa State needs change and that is why you have all accompanied me in solidarity and in prayers both those who are here and those who are at home supporting us.
I am here to confirm my candidacy; I am here to submit my nomination form and other particulars as demanded by my party and I have done that as you can all see.
As I said earlier, I am running this race to win and I am the leading candidate and we hope to work hard and win the primaries.
The primaries would be decided by the delegates of the PDP and I am confident that with the work I am doing, I am going to emerge victorious.
I, therefore, thank you for your continued support and I believe strongly, that together, we shall bring positive change to Bayelsa State.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 05 FROM THE RUINS OF THE OLD, A NEW BAYELSA BECKONS
Acceptance speech following victory at the Peoplesʹ Democratic Party gubernatorial primaries at the Samson Siasia stadium, Yenagoa. November 19 2011
It is with a great sense of joy, humility and responsibility that I, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, accept your nomination as the flag bearer for the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa State under the platform of the PDP.
In the last couple of days and, especially in the last couple of hours, I have been a witness to the sacrifices, all the inconveniences and all that you have gone through.
Today, we have laid the foundation for the building of a new Bayelsa and I assure you, that with what you have done and what you have demonstrated, you have laid the foundation on which, I will with your cooperation, build a new and prosperous Bayelsa for all of us.
From the ruins of today we will build a new Bayelsa that will be a shining star among states in the country.
As you know, this state is a PDP state. This state as we speak by the benevolence of God, by the mighty grace of God and with the support
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 06 of others like you, has the highest stake in PDP and for this we are most grateful. But you know that also comes with a responsibility. This state will always be PDP.
Let me assure our teeming supporters, that the work of enthroning a new Bayelsa, the work of building the foundation for a greater tomorrow begins today with what you have done. And, from the ruins of the present, we will build a new Bayelsa that will be a shining star among states in the country.
I will not be able to do that alone. I need the support and cooperation of all of you. As you have supported me massively in the course of my campaign, as you all showed me solidarity and endorsed the journey of restoration, as you have demonstrated the need for change with the way you voted, I know you will stand by me in the great times ahead.
From the ruins of today we will build a new Bayelsa that will be a shining star among states in the country.
Let me specifically thank and congratulate my very worthy aspirants in this race and to the Hon. Chief Francis Doukpola. This is the first time I am actually calling his name. I normally call him my chief and leader.
To all you great party leaders and loyalists, I say thank you and may God bless you.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 07 HOISTING THE FLAG
Remarks by Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson on the occasion of the formal presentation of the PDP governorship flag
I will like to use this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to the leaders of our state and our great party for the trust and confidence reposed in me.
In the new PDP Government by the grace of God, when elected, having closely followed events and with the cooperation and support of our leader and boss, the President and consulting at all times with all our leaders, youths and women, we intend to restore Bayelsa to its lost glory.
We are in this race to restore our state to be governed and ruled in accordance with the vision of this state as the Jerusalem of the Ijaw nation. We are going to showcase transparency and accountability and bring about a new governance culture. We are going to build roads and more roads.
And, Mr. President Sir, let me assure you that the three senatorial roads which you started and laboured and worked for which are abandoned, will be completed. The good work you did in the state by introducing
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 08 novel concepts, moral policies and education, will be built upon. The schools for the gi ed, the special and model schools that you promised and even started, that have been abandoned will be completed and put to use.
We will work with all of you, women and youths of the state to bring about skills acquisition and empowerment. There are no greater days we will have than meeting the challenge of human capital development.
And, aware of these challenges, we will work with all stakeholders to bring about the desired change and restoration we truly deserve as a people.
Once again, I thank you all for your show of support, understanding and cooperation.
I thank you all for your kind a ention.
God bless you and bless our dear state, Bayelsa.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 09 A RUNNING MATE, A GOOD HELMSMAN
Brief remark by Hon. Seriake Dickson at the formal presentation of his running mate for the 2012 governorship race in Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (Rtd)
May I happily welcome you all, our leaders and party faithful to this brief ceremony, where I will be fulfilling one of the requirements for the forthcoming election.
You all know that, I would need a reliable ally with the right sense of service and responsibility and above all, somebody who would bring stability to the system.
Admiral John Jonah, being an admiral knows how to calm trouble, knows how to steady the ship in times of turbulence and is a man with the right values, especially for this journey we are embarking on.
I, therefore, present to you my elder brother, somebody who will be my Chief Adviser, somebody who will assist in bringing stability, somebody whose counsel and views and opinions, all of us will be proud of and respect, somebody who will add value to the restoration agenda, that is coming the way of this state.
I bring you all Admiral John Jonah (Rtd), but not tired to the service of
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 10 our people.
Thank you very much for your support and kind a ention and may God continue to bless and direct us.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 11 A CALL TO DUTY
Remarks to members of the ʹKeme to Kemeʹ campaign group on January 25, 2012
I want to begin by thanking you all for your dedication and commitment to our cause.
There is nothing like being a volunteer far as it is wri en in the Bible, “it is more blessed to give than to receive”.
You decided to volunteer your time for the service of our dear state. I am also a volunteer like you and I volunteer myself as a symbol of the change we all yearn for, a change you rightly deserve.
So, let me thank you all most sincerely. I am so delighted that we have actually started our journey of restoration. I am looking at you and seeing this mammoth crowd of very eminently qualified, enlightened and dedicated Ijaw men and women, Bayelsans, who have volunteered themselves, unlike of old, when probably for political events you have to go and pay people to participate.
You have volunteered yourselves to join us in the task of restoring Bayelsa to its lost glory.
May God bless you and also our dear Bayelsa State.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 12 VOTE FOR CHANGE
Address at a campaign rally at Ogbia town, headquarters of Ogbia local government area on January 27 2012
First of all, I would like to thank the chiefs and elders, the custodians of the traditions of the great Ogbia kingdom in the Ijaw nation of Bayelsa state for the royal honor they have given to my running mate and I, in the traditional honour they have done and with the blessings they have given us. Like an Ogbia warrior, we will conquer.
I thank you all for producing the great leaders you have produced for the Ijaw nation and for Bayelsa. The unique thing about you people is that you do not abandon your leaders.
You are special in the politics of Bayelsa and today the Supreme Court has given us victory. So when we stopped over at Emeyal, I proclaimed it freedom day for Bayelsa, because you are free from those who steal our resources for themselves and fight and oppress our people; people who use our resources to take sides with our enemies and opponents to undermine our leaders who we have a duty to encourage and support and people who do not bring about development that will move our
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 13 state and the Ijaw nation forward, people that involved themselves in violent politics that led to the bloodshed among our people.
The PDP has given us the chance to provide the President of Nigeria and this is not the time to disappoint our President.
In the new PDP and the new Bayelsa, the President remains a leader, both at the national and state levels. In this new PDP and in this new Bayelsa, there will be no tolerance of violence, crime and criminality. There will be no tolerance for those who want to be relevant by abusing our leaders. This new Bayelsa is a Bayelsa where transparency, reason and consensusbuilding will be applied and everybody will be brought together and every stakeholder will be respected.
I thank you all for your patience, support and prayers. We have tried our best and on this note, I enjoin you all to turn out, en mass and cast your votes. I use this opportunity to declare ʹOperation Vote them Outʹ and this operation is going to be methodical. Through the votes from your units, wards and local governments we all will deliver Bayelsa.
The PDP has given us the chance to provide the President of Nigeria and this is not the time to disappoint our President.
I count on your support and pray that on the day of the election, you will turn out en mass, conduct yourselves properly and vote for PDP, the Presidentʹs party, because this is the only time we have been given an opportunity to be president of the nation, under the platform of a ruling party and this is not the time to disappoint our President.
We know some mistakes were made and that is why we have fought hard with your support to bring about change.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 14 THE MAKING OF A NEW BAYELSA
Remarks at a meeting with chiefs and leaders of Ogbia in Ogbia town, as part of the PDP gubernatorial campaign tour on January 27, 2012
I thank you all for standing with the leaders of the Ijaw nation and for the support you have always given to the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. I also thank you for remaining a peaceful clan of the Ijaw nation in Bayelsa state. I thank you for the warmth and hospitality.
In light of the Supreme Court judgment today, I assure you that the days where people use our resources in buying arms, instead of supporting and protecting our people are over and we are ushering in a new Bayelsa.
In the new Bayelsa that we are creating you all will have a role to play and it is going to be a Bayelsa of peace, prosperity and development; a Bayelsa where we will honour one another, instead of supporting our enemies to undermine our strategic interests.
These are the elements of the new Bayelsa. It will be a Bayelsa where we will partner with traditional rulers and all those who exercise authority in your communities, wards and kingdoms.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 15 The new PDP has come to correct all existing anomalies and I will like to thank you all for your support for the President because he remains the leader both at the national and state levels.
We will be the foot soldiers of the President, working and supporting him and fighting with him against all our opponents and those who think we are not good enough for leadership of this country. I am here to thank you for all that you mean to Bayelsa and the Ijaw people and to offer to you our proposal for the new Bayelsa.
I thank you for the warmth and hospitality you have shown.
We need your votes and I want you to tell your people to continue to maintain the peace you are known for and please educate your subjects on election day, to properly conduct themselves and vote for change. We, as Bayelsans and as Ogbia people in particular, know that we have no other party, than the PDP. This is the first time we have been given the opportunity to be president under the platform of this party and I urge you to advise your subjects that this is not the time to abandon that platform.
I thank you all for your patience and understanding and I assure you that I will continue to be a loyal son and dependable ally of the Ogbia people and as you all know, in all my political career I have not been far from the Ogbia people.
We have fought together and we have won.
Today, I assure you that with me as the Governor under the platform of the Presidentʹs party, you will always have an ally in government. In this election, I urge you to call on your people to vote for the umbrella people.
Your Majesties, there is nothing else I can say that you do not already know; I want to thank you all for what you have been doing individually because I know the encouragement, support and prayers
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 16 you have always given and the positions you have taken in meetings.
I thank you all for all this and the day of our reward is at hand because God has given us victory.
I thank you once again for your audience and hospitality and May God continue to bless the Ogbia people.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 17 CHANGE HAS COME TO BAYELSA
Speech at the PDP gubernatorial campaign rally in Nembe, on January 30 2012
Your Majesty, I thank you for the warm reception you and the good people of this historic city have accorded us. Even, before we entered Nembe, there were several boat displays welcoming us.
Your Majesty, the PDP team is thanking you, your chiefs and the good people of this city for all the support that you have continued to give the party and to all the successive PDP governments.
You have always supported and voted for PDP all the way and we know that this is a PDP stronghold.
In that respect and because of the circumstances surrounding this ticket, which I will talk about herea er, we know we are not here on a normal campaign soliciting for vote, but for your prayers and solidarity.
When we started this restoration movement, your sons and daughters and leaders were part of it and have continued to be part of this vision and support it. Therefore, you and your people are not strangers to the
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 18 restoration movement in Bayelsa and I want to thank you for the support, prayers and for allowing your sons and daughters to be associated with this project from its inception till date.
Your Majesty, we know the people of this great city have a tremendous pool of manpower and to further bu ress our recognition of that we made a deliberate decision to select one of your sons as my running mate. The interesting thing is that he did not lobby for it.
We, in the PDP went looking for a dependable person, because we know the magnitude of the challenges ahead and that there is a need to safeguard the stability of the restoration movement. So we went looking for a capable, trusted and experienced hand to join me in steering the ship of the state.
We looked around and it fell on someone you donated to serve Nigeria; who like all your other sons and daughters, has proved himself to be credible and who rose to a very enviable and respected height in his service and retired honourably.
He was chosen to be my chief adviser, partner and ally in serving our people and I know we have thrust him into a very unfamiliar territory without his prompting, but I am rest assured because I know that you are available like always to pray for him and give him your support and the assistance that he needs.
This assistance should not end with the elections; supporting us to win the elections is only the beginning of a greater and demanding responsibility which is delivering the dividends of democracy such as building good roads, schools, hospitals and bringing about peace and stability to our state, which we so much desire and need.
These are the basic elements of the restoration agenda in addition to others.
I want to thank you once again for the support and solidarity you and
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 19 your people have given to the PDP over the years and particularly for the support and prayers you have continued to give to this ticket and to your son, directly. We are here to serve the whole of Bayelsa state and in that process, I would like to assure you that with your son there and with me being a friend to this great city, you will not be le behind in the scheme of affairs in this new government.
Some people say that what a friend can do for you, you might not get it from your brother; therefore, even without Admiral Jonah on this ticket, your place in this government is assured by me and cannot be undermined or underrated.
I thank you for your support and solidarity and I encourage you to do more because we will not be able to achieve our goals without your mandate, votes and support.
I urge you all leaders and people of this ancient land to turn out en mass peacefully because we do not want to win the elections by rigging or by fighting. We want to remind your people to vote for the PDP, the party of the Ijaw people and the party that has given us a President and also presented to the people of Bayelsa State, a ticket of experience, integrity and prudence.
We understand your problems and have an idea of how to solve them and we will do that by partnering and working with you all to solve our problems. I urge you all to convey the message to the rest of the people in Bayelsa that the time for change has come and the change we all desire is real and achievable. Ours will be a government that will not abuse power or fight our people, but will promote reconciliation and consensus building, which are the critical elements of the restoration agenda.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 20 Vote for the PDP, the party that has given is the President and is presenting to Bayelsa a ticket of experience, integrity and prudence.
I want to thank you all for your hospitality and the warmth with which you received us and convey our special regards to His Majesty and assure him that we are honoured and pleased to have a traditional ruler with his background and experience to partner with us in solving the problems of our people.
I thank you my elders and may God bless us all.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 21 OURS IS A PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT
Remarks during the campaign visit to the Bassambiri, Nembe
We are here as part of the PDP delegation to thank you for your expression of support and solidarity for the programmes of the PDP and, I would like to thank and appreciate you for the humility and years of service that you have given to our people. I am proud knowing that, like you, I started as a policeman and when I see you serve with humility, simplicity and courage, dignity and honour, it reminds me of the concept of service to our people.
You have personified that and anytime I see you from afar, I admire you.
Thank you for teaching us what it means to serve. The deeper we go into this project the stronger your people have become in their resolve to support us and bring about the change we all deserve in this state.
Sir, in the PDP and in the new Bayelsa, that we are working hard to create with your prayers and support, we shall have effective and robust partnership with rulers and leaders like you, who are serving
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 22 with humility, dedication, selflessness and complete devotion to the service of their people. We will partner effectively with the traditional institution, so that in working with all the traditional rulers and all those who exercise authority in the various communities in Bayelsa State, we can bring about peace and reconciliation everywhere as well as development, good roads, schools and hospitals, because we have the resources. All we need is effective, visionary and selfless leadership that will work with and consult all other stakeholders and leaders as well as having the discipline and selflessness to do what is right.
This is what the new PDP is poised to achieve and this is what the PDP ticket offers.
We will bring you effective, visionary and selfless leadership.
Admiral Jonah my running mate is one of you and I would like to assure you, your chiefs and leaders that, I am already one of your sons. Therefore Nembe Bassambiri cannot be le out in the new scheme of things. The people of this community are playing a very key and pivotal role, so you are effectively represented in the new restoration team we are building to change Bayelsa.
I want to thank you once again for giving a good example, an example of dedication, service, humility and selflessness to the cause of our people and for being a personification of what a traditional ruler should be in modern times. We pray that, God in his infinite mercy and wisdom will continue to keep you in good health to continue to serve more and lead us in the right path.
Your Majesty, ordinarily we would have said that we are here on a campaign visit, but because we are assured of your support, it will be unfair to say we are here to solicit for votes and ask for support, because you have already blessed us by permi ing your sons and daughters to work with us. Therefore we take it that the elections are already over and so we appreciate you and the elders of this ancient community.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 23 We will bring you effective, visionary and selfless leadership.
There is one aspect I would like to mention. A er the elections, as part of the package we present, we will partner with you and others to bring about peace, reduce violence and criminality in the waterways and in all se lements and villages in Bayelsa.
The new government that the people will bring about will not condone crime, violence and criminality and we will be able to achieve this by working with you and other leaders, because this is of concern to us all.
Now that I am here, I solicit your royal and fatherly blessings and this will be the first of the series of interactions between you, your chiefs and our new government.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 24 WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICE
Remarks at a campaign rally at the King Koko Square in Ogbolomabiri, Nembe
We are here to confirm victory because this ticket God has brought to Bayelsa that we call restoration is the ticket of performance, integrity and vision. We are done with fraudulent government; we are also done with the government of violence and we are bringing a government of development.
Ours is a ticket of performance, integrity and vision.
We will work with you and your leaders to bring peace and reconciliation because without peace, there will be no development and so I will like to thank you for the support you have been giving to your leaders and I urge you to continue to support them. You have always supported PDP and I urge you to continue to do so, because it is the Presidentʹs party. Indeed the President and leaders of this party send their thanks to you all.
Your duty is to turn out en mass and vote; continue to support Admiral Jonah, my running mate, who is one of you and my dependable ally. We
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 25 will work together for your service.
As you know, he is a good man and has served this country to the highest level and that was why we went to look for him, because we wanted a dependable person with experience and who will contribute his ideas towards the development and stability of Bayelsa state and to help us to be focused in serving you.
Ours is a ticket of performance, integrity and vision.
Ours will be a government that wants to perform and not a selfserving government.
Thank you all and may God bless you all.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 26 WHY VICTORY IS CERTAIN
Speech during a courtesy visit on his royal majesty, King Alfred Diete Spiff, Amayanabo of TwonBrass, during a campaign visit to Twon Brass on January 30 2012
Your Majesty, I would like to thank you sincerely for the support you have been giving to the cause of peace and development from 1999 till date.
We have many things which we in the PDP will like to partner with you to achieve. You have already given me a checklist and I assure you, I will keep it close to my heart. I will also make a copy for my running mate. It will not be long, before we will seek audience with you, Your Royal Majesty for us to learn more and get your input as to how we can add value to the lives of our people.
Visiting here and seeing the villages and communities have opened our eyes to our problems and also to our potentials and possibilities and I assure you, that the new PDP ticket is a ticket of performance and integrity, a ticket that will work well with our leaders and as we consult our people to address the monumental developmental challenges that we have.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 27 We can build good roads, bridges and schools; we will work together to bring peace, without which no meaningful development can take place.
Your Majesty, these are some of the critical objectives, that the new PDP will work with you and other leaders to achieve and I want to thank you for the fatherly advice and support you have always given to our leaders, for your solidarity. As an aside, I would like to partner with you to develop a golf course in Yenagoa, because we want to turn into the foremost tourism hub in Nigeria. That is why we need roads so people can come and see the beauty of the state.
Thank you once again for all the support you have given to our leaders, especially the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and I assure you that we will not let you down.
We appreciate your fatherly advice and we will be consulting you o en, as well as other traditional rulers on the way forward.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 28 PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, VICE PRESIDENT NAMADI SAMBO, HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON AND REAR ADMIRAL JOHN JONAH AT THE PDP FLAG OFF CAMPAIGN
NEMBE L.G.A CAMPAIGNE
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 29 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON BEING PRESENTED AS THE BAYELSA STATE P.D.P FLAG BEARER BY THE P.D.P NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, ALH, KAWU BARAJE
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON ,REAR ADMIRAL JOHN JONAH AND ELDERS OF OGBIA DURING HIS CAMPAIGN VISIT TO OGBIA L.G.A
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 30 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON, HIS DEPUTY REAR ADMIRAL JOHN JONAH Rtd AT A CAMPAIGN IN BRASS L.G.A
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON RECIEVING A GIFT FROM H.R.M KING DIETTE SPIFF
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 31 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON RECEIVING
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON RECEIVING THE BLESSINGS OF THE IBEDA OWEI OF KOLOKUMA CLAN KING MOZI AGARA
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 32 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON RECEIVING THE BLESSINGS OF HIS H.R.M KING DIETTE SPIFF
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON RECEIVING THE BLESSING OF H.R.M AMOS POUBINAFA OF TUNGBO KINGDOM IN SAGBAMA L.G.A
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 33 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN THE PALACE OF THE AMANYANABO OF ODIOMA IN BRASS L.G.A
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN THE PALACE OF H.R.M KING EBITIMI BANIGO IN OKPOMA KINGDOM IN BRASS L.G.A
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 34 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN SOUTHERN IJAW L.G.A
HON. HERNY SERIAKE DICKSON AND REAR ADMIRAL JOHN JONAH IN SOUTHERN IJAW L.G.A
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 35 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN OGBIA L.G.A DURING HIS CAMPAIGN
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN A GROUP PHOTOGRAPH WITH THE IBEDAOWEI OF KOLOKUMA CLAN KING MOZI AGARA AND OTHERS
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 36 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN A GROUP PHOTOGRAPH WITH THE IBEDAOWEI OF KOLOKUMA CLAN KING MOZI AGARA AND OTHERS
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON DISPLAYING GIFT RECEIVED FROM H.R.M KING DIETTE SPIFF IN BRASS KINGDOM
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 37 KEME TO KEME PARTICIPANTS
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN OGBOLOMABIRI IN NEMBE L.G.A
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 38 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON AT THE PALACE OF THE IBEDAOWEI OF KOLOKUMA CLAN, KING MOZI AGARA
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON AT THE PALACE OF THE IBEDAOWEI OF KOLOKUMA CLAN, KING MOZI AGARA
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 39 HON HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON RECIEVING THE BLESSING OF HRM. KING RALF IWOWARI THE AMANYANABO OF NEMBE BASSAMBIRI
HON HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON IN OGBOLOMABIRI IN NEMBE L.G.A DURING HIS CAMPAIGN VISIT
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 40 THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 41 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON CASTING HIS VOTE IN HIS HOME TOWN, TORUORUA IN SAGBAMA L.G.A
MRS. RACHAEL DICKSON CASTING HER VOTE
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 42 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON AT THE SWEARINGIN CEREMONY
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON AT THE SWEARING IN CEREMONY1
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 43 HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON CONGRATULED BY THE CHIEF JUDGE, JUSTICE KATE ABIRI AFTER HIS SWEARINGIN
HON. HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON DELIVERING HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 44 SWEARING IN OF DEPUTY GOVERNOR, REAR ADMIRAL JOHN JONAH RTD
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN JONAH BEING CONGRATULATED BY THE CHIEF JUDGE JUSTICE KATE ABIRI AFTER HIS SWEARINGIN
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 45 WE WILL NOT LET OUR PEOPLE DOWN
Remarks at the PDP gubernatorial campaign rally in TwonBrass on January 30 2012
I thank you all for your commitment, for waiting patiently for us and I apologize for the delay in coming here.
We encountered some difficulties on our way here and that highlights the need for good roads to Brass and all local governments to link up our people with ease. We will build good schools, that will give free and compulsory education. We will work with you and your leaders to bring back peace to the state. We thank you for supporting PDP all the way from 1999 till date because this is a PDP stronghold.
We thank you for all the support you have been giving to all our candidates.
You have voted massively for three governors and we know we can count on you this time because we know you are loyal party people and you will vote to support the new Bayelsa project.
Thank you for all the support you have been giving to your leaders here present and those who are absent. They will not let you down and we
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 46 will not let you down as well. We will deliver on all our promises.
This ticket is a ticket of integrity and performance. I am running with a tried and trusted public servant, who will add value to governance; your brother and my partner and ally, Rear Admiral John Gboribogha Jonah. A er serving this country meritoriously, we have dra ed him to join us in rescuing our people.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 47 WE WILL TAKE BAYELSA TO NEW HEIGHTS
Remarks at the campaign rally in Okpoama community in Brass local government area on January 30 2012
I know that even if you did not permit your sons and daughters to work with us, they would have distanced themselves from us. Therefore, I thank you for allowing them to support us.
On this note, I wish you many more years of fruitful service to humanity and I assure you of our readiness to partner with leaders like you, that we are blessed to have and with the cooperation of your people, I know we will take Okpoama and Bayelsa state to greater heights.
I will like you to urge your people, who have also had the honour of having one of your sons elected under the platform of the PDP to continue to stand by the PDP because it is the party of the Ijaw people and of Bayelsa state.
I wish you well and may God continue to bless you, your chiefs and the people of Okpoama community.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 48 WE MUST RECLAIM OUR STATE
Speech at a campaign rally at Akassa in Brass local government area on January 30 2012
My dear elders and chiefs of Akassa kingdom, we are here as part of the PDP delegation to visit and thank you for all the support you have been giving to PDP and all PDP members and to my aspiration.
This is my first time in Akassa, but I have been working and fighting with you all in spirit, because your sons and daughters have been my partners and allies all these years. Indeed the coordinator of the campaign in this local government area is your son.
Akassa is familiar territory to PDP and we are here to thank you most sincerely and through this interaction. Please convey our appreciation to all your subjects and the teeming PDP supporters in your communities. PDP in Bayelsa, the party of the President and of the Ijaw and Bayelsa people thanks you for all the support and for believing in us.
In less than two weeks from now, elections will be held and this new PDP has a lot of things for the Akassa kingdom. We know that many
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 49 things have gone wrong in this state and we are in this struggle to reclaim our state. With your support we will deliver the dividends of democracy.
We need good roads, schools and hospitals. We want as well to work with traditional institutions and with all of you who exercise authority in your communities and villages to bring about peace and stability to Bayelsa state.
We in Bayelsa and as Ijaw people do not know any party other than the PDP because the PDP helped to wipe our tears and gave us an opportunity to contest and win election as President of this country. As the candidate of the PDP, I would like to convey the appreciation of the President and leaders of the party to you all for your support and to assure you that good days are here; the new dawn is here and the team that will rebuild is in your midst in Akassa.
I urge you all to work hard in all your units, communities and wards to deliver PDP because that is where your benefits, development and peace will come from. Your sons and daughters will be part of the system and will decide what will happen in Bayelsa, what will come to you and who gets what. So this is Akassaʹs campaign.
For now PDP thanks you and urges you to tell all your subjects to turn out en masse and cast their votes for the PDP, because we do not want to win by fighting. The way you have received us shows that this is a PDP stronghold and that your minds and hearts are with the PDP and the PDP campaign.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 50 WE MUST WORK TOGETHER
Remarks at the campaign rally in Nembe (Bassambiri)
I thank you all for your understanding, patience and support; I thank you for supporting PDP all the way. We know that, this is a PDP stronghold and the new PDP will not disappoint you.
We will bring development such as roads, schools, peace and stability to Nembe. A er the elections, we will meet to plan and work together.
I wonʹt leave here without telling you that Bassambiri will not be le out and this is the promise I make to you on behalf of PDP. We will also ensure that from now, there will be no more violence in any part of Bayelsa state. We will bring about peace and reconciliation. As you can see your leaders are here united for the development of PDP and for the development of Bayelsa and we will work with them to serve you.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 51 WE WILL END THE VIOLENCE
Remarks during a courtesy call on HRM King Malla Sasime JP, Obeni Ibe of Epie Kingdom before a campaign rally
We have come to solicit your fatherly and royal blessing and support and to formally notify Your Majesty and your council of chiefs that a er due consultation with various strata of our society and opinion leaders of our state, I have decided to put myself forward before our people for further service.
We are here to let you know that, we are rolling out the restoration drums today to rescue our dear state and restore the glory that has been lost.
We will not say much here, but we are here as your sons and daughters to let you know that today is the beginning of change in Bayelsa.
As we embark on this journey, Sir, we think it is proper to visit your Majesty and inform you and your council accordingly and to assure you that by the grace of God, we will work closely with the traditional institution in our quest to restore our lost glory.
It is part of our agenda to empower the traditional institution to be able
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 52 to play its role as custodians of the rich culture and tradition of our people. As you know, Yenagoa where you preside over is a vast kingdom.
Sadly, it has been taken over by violence. Just this evening, we were told that by the latest report about five boys were gunned down in Epie, your Kingdom. Your Majesty and council of chiefs, we know that you are worried just as we are.
This is not right for our people and these are some of the reasons why we have taken the decision to embark on this restoration journey and we believe that, with your support and that of your people, Bayelsa shall be restored to its lost glory.
I thank you for your a ention and your time and may God bless us all.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 53 YENAGOA WILL HAVE A HUGE MAKEOVER
Remarks at a governorship campaign rally in Yenagoa.
My good and wonderful people of Yenagoa, I bring you warm greetings from your party and also thank you from the bo om of my heart for all your sacrifices, especially on a day like this when we have come to seek your support in our march to restore the lost glory of our State, Bayelsa.
I want us to also appreciate the fact that PDP has succeeded in re inventing itself in this state.
We recognize that in the last couple of years, they have not really done very well and I do not want to go into that because all that is now history. I want to thank you for your support and prayers on our journey to restoration.
We are reinventing ourselves as a party because we want to also re invent and create a new Bayelsa for all of us.
And, in this new Bayelsa we are creating, we will not be able to move forward, unless we have your support and that is why at moments like this, we must thank you and urge you all to spread the gospel of
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 54 restoration and the message of building a new Bayelsa.
You are going to play your own part to bring it about. And your own role is to mobilize yourselves en mass in all your units, all your wards and all your L.G.Aʹs and conduct yourselves peacefully and turn out en mass on election day.
We know and trust and believe that, you are going to turn out en mass, peacefully conduct yourselves and vote for the only party that is known to you and the rest of our people, which is the PDP, your party.
So, Chief Ikiogha and the good people of Yenagoa do not worry we are going to develop Yenagoa and Bayelsa state as a whole. You will enjoy a lot of investment in infrastructure.
Yenagoa will be renewed and redesigned, to make it a befi ing state capital for all of us.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 55 PDP, PARTY OF THE PEOPLE
Remarks during a courtesy call on King WSJ Igbugburu, Ebenanaowei of Bomo clan in southern Ijaw local government area
Let me specifically appreciate the King of Bomo Kingdom and his people for not only the warm reception accorded me and the PDP train, but also for presenting symbolic gi s to me. Boma Kingdom is known for its unflinching support for the PDP in this state. Therefore, I encourage everybody to come out en mass to vote for the PDP in the gubernatorial election on Saturday.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 56 TO BAYELSA WE BRING GOOD TIDINGS
Speech at the PDP campaign rally in Oporoma, headquarters of southern Ijaw local government area
Today we are here to greet you and express our condolences. PDP heard of the death of the Deputy Amananaowei of this town, (Chief Foubai Tarakeme) so they asked us to console you and pray that God grants you the fortitude to bear the loss.
I am representing the Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal constituency in the House of Representatives. As you know, we are preparing for elections that are coming up soon.
PDP is supposed to come on a campaign trip but this is not even necessary because this is the PDP foundation centre: we are aware of what you can do at the polls. There is a common saying that, “when the eye maintains diligence, it will see the nose briefly”. We are here therefore to remind you of next Saturdayʹs gubernatorial election in the state.
We also want to appreciate you for releasing some of your prominent children to work with us. That includes my learned senior colleague,
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 57 Talford Ongolo, who was an a orney general and commissioner for Justice, before me in the state and presently the caucus chairman of the PDP campaign team, Hon Target Segibo our son; I referred to him as our son, because I am a Tarakiri young man too; and also, because of your support for PDP, you released your son, the first Executive Governor of the only Ijaw state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
“when the eye maintains diligence, it will see the nose briefly”.
This trip, therefore, is to the very foundation of the PDP, so those who are here should inform those who are not here to vote for the party, PDP, which has an umbrella logo.
Southern Ijaw is the base of PDP in state, with Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha as the first Executive Governor. If you vote for us, be rest assured that before we come for the next campaign, we will drive to Oporoma from Yenagoa.
You will get hospitals, schools, electricity and above all peace. Your suffering has lasted too long, so in the next three days come out enmass to vote PDP.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 58 YOUR VOTE IS YOUR POWER TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS
Remarks during visit to chiefs and elders of Ekeremor local government area
I am here today to greet your Royal Highness, the men, women and youths. You have voted me twice as your representative in the Federal Parliament. In 2007, I came here with your son Heineken Lokpobiri to seek your vote and you honoured me.
Meanwhile, there is an Ijaw saying that says “the knife cu ing the yam is not strange to it” meaning I am not a stranger in this your Royal Palace and Ekeremor as a whole. All your royal blessings over me during my previous elections all worked for me.
Last year, some people claimed the ownership of the state; we contested with them and because of the support of your sons and daughters, we were victorious at the end of the day. As I was planning to come down to say thank you for your good gesture, the rains came and so I had to exercise a li le patience for the rains to cease.
Some of your sons and daughters came to me and told me that there is need to rescue Bayelsa state and that is why we are here to get your
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 59 fatherly blessings before we set out for the election.
I want you to do as you have done for me before in the past, because we are like slaves in our own state.
As a legislator, I was swimming in a shallow river because my powers were limited; we had to behave as if we did not see the challenges that require urgent solutions, but if elected as Governor, I will have the powers to address your challenges.
On my way here, I had to drive through many Delta state communities, which should not be. Like I said earlier, I am not a stranger in Ekeremor so do not expect me to ask you what your problems are because I am already acquainted with them. Nobody had the means to solve those problems, including your sons before, but God has brought the means to us now; our friends from other parts of the state like A.J Turner have done their part, so what is le is for us to do our part and celebrate at last.
Do your best to support this PDP train, so that in the next one year we can drive our cars down to Ekeremor, to the envy of neighbouring communities in other states.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 60 OUR STRUGGLE IS TO REDEEM BAYELSA
Remarks at Ekeremor campaign ground
I really appreciate you all for your patience since morning.
You have voted me in twice as your representative in the federal parliament.
They say man proposes but God disposes. I had not even paddled the boat to the end before I noticed another struggle and all other struggles were li le compared to the ones we are presently faced with.
Just like what my running mate said before me, all the previous struggles were not enough to feed people adequately. I have been a commissioner and twotime member of the House of Representatives, but those positions are all limited in power.
The main power is “to hold the head of the cutlass” yourself. I am not here to campaign, but to appreciate you.
Just like the proverbial saying “the knife is not strange to the yam, when cu ing it”, there is no problem in Ekeremor that I donʹt understand. As I
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 61 was driving down here a er a long distance, the vehicles were delayed in Delta state.
Sometimes we are tempted to ask the crime we have commi ed that made us look like slaves in our own state. When the new PDP government comes to power, in one year a road will be constructed to Ekeremor.
Our people have been carrying cutlasses, guns to fight for other people to become governors yet they did not remember us. That is why we are here to plan with you and woo other people from other parts of the state to support us. I am happy to see that some people who le the PDP because of those who were trying to tear the umbrella are now back and that is why you see the former Deputy Governor here.
Once I become the Governor all your sufferings will be over; you will soon see good schools and those who are planning to trade or go into business, will enjoy so loans.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 62 LET THE BALLOT BOX FIGHT FOR US
Remarks at the palace of the Alei of Aleibiri in Ekeremor local government area
The Alei, I am on my knees and I greet you all the elders.
This train you are seeing here today is the PDP train and I am the flag bearer. In this palace and community I am not a visitor.
I was here in 2007 and despite all threats, you prayed for me, supported me and I won the elections. Therefore, this trip can be said to be a constituency tour because I still remain your member, representing Sagbama/Ekeremor constituency.
We sincerely apologize for coming late; it is due to some circumstances beyond our control.
Your son who was a member of the House of Assembly and a Deputy Governor, said in Ekeremor that if you are not holding the head of the cutlass you are still powerless; therefore, we are here to inform you that all the legal issues instituted against us failed, so we need your royal and fatherly blessings to fight the general fight and win.
It is your own election too so as you had been doing before, tell all your children not to fight but vote for us at the election.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 63 PDP HAS GIVEN THE IJAW A PLACE TO STAND
Remarks at palace of the Ebedaowei of Kolokuma clan Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area
Your Highness and all our leaders, I greet you.
I am not a visitor, but one of your sons, who has come home.
Not long ago, during Christmas and New Year, we came to greet you and you and your chiefs accepted us, as a father would welcome his children. I told you then that I needed your prayers and support. So as we set up our campaign team we felt it would amount to dishonour and disrespect if we entered into your kingdom and campaigned without informing you beforehand.
Your Highness sir, PDP has asked me to thank you for your support since 1999. There is no other kingdom, that can claim the ownership of PDP in this state than Kolokuma/Opokuma.
As we speak, the field is filled to capacity with people. We had to tell them to wait so we can come and see the fathers first. We are here to seek your blessings; we the Ijaws do not have any other party than PDP.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 64 Since independence, those who called themselves majority tribes had relegated us to the background. Apart from Chief Pere Ajuwa, who became second to Alhaji Tofa in NRC, no Ijaw man has been given the chance to be anything, but by a miracle PDP gave our brother, your son, Goodluck Jonathan, the ticket to be the President of this country.
We are here to see how Kolokuma and other places can be made be er. We therefore seek your royal blessings and support.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 65 REMAKING BAYELSA: THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW A COUNTRYMAN REPORTS FOR DUTY
Being the text of an address delivered by Hon Seriake Dickson on September 24, 2011
In 1986 at the age of 19 while my contemporaries were enjoying the comfort of their family homes and probably not too sure of what to do next in their lives, I joined the Nigerian Police Force and took my destiny in my hands. I prayed to God and worked hard.
There I learnt about service to this country, I fought crime and criminality wherever I served and thirty years on Iʹm still in the trenches fighting crime and criminality, upholding the rights of the downtrodden and standing for you the people, fighting against bad government all these years as well as fighting against the oppression of our people.
I thank you all for not allowing yourselves to be intimidated despite the killing of four young men yesterday because that was done to send fear and intimidation into our ranks but we will not be moved. People may refer to some of you as exmilitants but I call you exfreedom fighters and I thank you for all you have done towards my security. You have
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 66 held meetings and lent your solidarity and support.
Our politics is reaching out to you and interacting with you all. My doors are always open because that is how I was taught to serve you.
Today I announce that as I reported for duty to the country at the age of 19, I stand before you all to announce that I am reporting for duty again and this time I am reporting for duty to restore the lost glory and dashed hopes of our people. Today I acknowledge all the calls and solidarity messages that have been sent to me from all the creeks and villages across the state and beyond urging me on and praying for me.
Our politics is to serve you and today you are here to show solidarity and love. I want to assure you that I will restore Yenagoa to its true glory in accordance with the founding principle as the Jerusalem of the Ijaw nation. And as a servant of the Ijaw nation I am aware of the founding principles of this state: among other things to be a center of excellence, a beacon of hope and a rallying point for all ijaw people all over.
Today, I publicly affirm to you my determination to reconcile all our people and to rally our people together to build a solid foundation upon which the growth of our people will rest.
Two weeks ago I sent a le er to all the youths and women announcing my intention to enter the gubernatorial race to salvage our state from the grips of anarchy, insecurity, bad governance and reckless abuse of power and state resources.
In that le er I set out the general principles upon which our government will be run, I come reporting for duty with a background of service to our country and to you my people.
Between 1996 and 2005 I served in Yenagoa as the first publicity secretary of my professional association, the Nigerian Bar Association. I also served as state chairman of AD because of my belief in resource control; therea er I became national legal adviser and from the events
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 67 of that presidential election about which we thank our countrymen profusely you will agree with me that there is the need to broaden and reaffirm our alliances in this country.
I also served as the national legal adviser of our apex body the INC. Therea er I became a orney general of this state and you know how we used power. We did not abuse the power and resources of this state, which is why we have come back again. In all that we did and we are going to do I will be guided by one factor alone: working in your best interest and the best interest of the Ijaw nation.
In 2007 the good people of the Sagbama/Ekeremor federal constituency returned me unopposed and for that I remain eternally grateful and despite the marginalization by the state government. Because we worked together with God on our side we were victorious. I contested for the elections twice and won on both occasions. Therefore I want to also use this opportunity to thank the good people of Sagbama/Ekeremor constituency for your support and for standing by me all the way through and I know you will be with me from the start of this journey till the end.
A er my reelection into the House and having the opportunity again to serve you, I have been part of all worthy causes that have taken place in that House. That is what I was sent there to do and I have tried in my own li le way to give you people a respected voice and face in the House.
People put governments in power; to serve them and not to kill and oppress our people, not to take loans and mortgage your future, but to serve in the best traditions of our people with humility, dignity and courage. But they have failed to do that.
We should tell the opposition not to cause unnecessary contention but to run on a record of achievements. Before I ask your opinions I would like to ask some questions;
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 68 Why is Bayelsa the most indebted state in Nigeria?
What were the loans taken used for?
Are you happy about your mortgaged future?
What happened to the senatorial roads that were started and abandoned?
Why was BYCAS scrapped?
What is happening to the College of Education at Okpoama?
What happened to the payment of bursaries and scholarships and why the delays in the payment of WAEC fees?
The opposition inherited a peaceful state in 2007 but the state has taken a turn for the worse and we have to put a stop to that. At this juncture, with all humility I want us to observe a minutes silence for a young man called Freddie Ockiya from Ogbolomabiri in Nembe, who was one of the people killed by Operation Famutangbei and for all those who have died through their hands. We will not rest until we stop that from happening again.
My answer to all the questions I asked is that your government has failed you despite the revenue that is allocated to this state. The government has wasted almost five years and as a result of all these failures and having heard the cries and calls of our people and our restoration team which includes all of you I have decided to be in this race.
I am in this race for you all and this election is our future. Do not be deceived or intimidated because we are proud people who could not even be conquered by the British or any internal colonialists.
My charge to you all is to go to your communities and creeks and tell them that their government has failed them and it is their right to reject
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 69 a government that has failed them. Tell them this election is about them and their future and that I Hon Seriake Dickson will stay here and work with you to salvage the situation. I am not an Abuja politician. I am one of you and I know your problems. My politics is service to you all but above all tell them that change has come and they should all come on board.
On this note I want to tell you a few things I will do. I will unfold a paradigm shi in the governance culture in Bayelsa because we the Ijaw people have a proud history of service in politics; service with honor, courage, dedication, humility.
My government will be transparent and accountable to you the people because you have a right to know about government revenues and expenditures. I am going to put a stop to corruption and ensure that your resources are used for your development.
The most important challenge facing our future is the challenge of human capacity building and that is why we get worried when people toy with your lives and your destiny. So education will be a top priority in my government. We will redesign and build model primary and secondary schools with boarding facilities in all local governments in Bayelsa; we will use our resources to mould the future of our young people.
Melford Okilo of blessed memory who in the best traditions of the ijaw nation served with vision, humility, courage and honor did not go about stealing money or killing people but built a school which is now Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Alamieyeseigha also did that by establishing the Niger Delta University. I and a generation of leaders you all know benefi ed from the school established by Okilo. So we are passionate about education and have to remove those who play with your education and future from office.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 70 My government will be transparent and accountable to you the people because you have a right to know about government revenues and expenditures. I am going to put a stop to corruption and ensure that your resources are used for your development.
There was a program initiated by previous administrations to put primary school students from humble backgrounds in top secondary schools across the country but which has been scrapped by the present administration. It will be restored. As well as building model schools with modern facilities, we will also emphasize our culture, we will revive the Ijaw language project because a people without culture and respect for language are lost.
The CCDA and the Bayelsa Master Plan will be reviewed and implemented to the le er because we all have a duty to develop this state together. I will ensure that all landowners are given C of Os immediately their titles are verified so you can trade with them. We have talked about water and the empowerment of our women; we are going to come up with cooperatives, SMEs and programs that are designed to give you skills and empower you.
Great Ijaw youths, you know we are in this together because there is no way I can succeed without you. You know there is a problem and nothing is happening but all that will be reworked and discipline and service delivery will be enthroned in all strata of public service.
My people, I bring you reconciliation, peace and hope. We will serve you in the best traditions of our founding fathers, leaders and heroes past. I made a pledge to you that I will work for the survival and sustenance of Bayelsa and the Ijaw nation. Your sweat, blood and tears will not be forgo en and the only way to ensure that the Ijaw nation
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 71 moves forward is that we join hands to correct Bayelsa because it is the headquarters of the Ijaw nation.
I have become a symbol of the change you deserve and as a product of the Ijaw struggle I will continue to ensure that in our system the INC and the IYC, the two main organs of mobilization of the Ijaw people, will be reinvigorated for the purpose of our positive national development. The Ijaw nation will put its house together again. The days of contradictory signals and messages are over; the days of desecration of our fundamental values are over; the days of enriching outsiders with our resources at our expense are over; the days of self destructive politics are over for good.
We will not be intimidated and we will not give up until Bayelsa and the Ijaw nation are free. We will rally our people together and take steps to protect our interests because that is our responsibility. The burden is heavy and I cannot do it alone. So I need your support.
My loyalty is to you all and I call on you to rise up with this vision for a be er Bayelsa; rise up and support the change you rightly deserve as I, the countryman, reports for duty. Together we can restore Bayelsa.
Long live Bayelsa state
Long live the Ijaw nation
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
THE RESTORATION AGENDA UNVEILED 72