Dickson lied against me – Minister
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, yesterday, said the Governor of Bayelsa, his home state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, lied against him over sponsorship of militancy and other criminal activities in the state.
“All the guns, AK47, all the boats and others he uses to kill and all other ammunition were supplied by Senator Lokpobri. I have evidence that on the 2nd of January, this month, this Kareowei and his killers were in Ekeremor, celebrating with Lokpobiri, and that is the person appointed as Minster of state”.
But Lokpobiri in a detailed response said he never had any relationship with the late militant leader explaining that he was no longer at his hometown in Ekeremor on the day Dickson accused him of meeting with the warlord.
He said: “I was with my kith and Kin at Ekeremor from 31 December 2017 to 2 January 2018 to celebrate the New Year. A football match, wrestling contest and lots of fun fare, characterized the celebration. I was however bade goodbye by enthusiastic family members, friends and well wishers and left home in the morning of 2 January, 2018.
“The claim of Governor Seriake Dickson is not only false but wicked and most ungodly. The same militant even came to threaten me on the eve of the New Year and fired some rounds at the river before zooming off.
“Interestingly, I shared my thoughts on the incident with one of our most respected security officers on my way to Abuja for a meeting with the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa on 3 January 2018.
“The accusation of the purchase of arms and equipment for the militant is also a figment of the imagination of Governor Dickson. I do not have anything to do with the militant and had never met him.
On my contribution to nation building as Honourable Minister of State, Agriculture and Rural Development, my constituency is the entire country and there is no denying the fact that my colleague and I have worked so hard to reposition the sector to the admiration of all Nigerians.
“Agriculture has been reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC) as the highest contributor to the GDP in 2017. The claim by Governor Dickson that he has not seen anything I have done in my village is therefore petty and preposterous.
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The theatrics of Governor Dickson is a dance of the absurd on the misfortunes of the people of Ndoro community in particular and Bayelsa State at large.
“Common sense in good governance dictates that the proper thing to do is to attend to the needs of the displaced persons and do the needful to help them return to their community and rebuild their lives. This is what all people of good will and I expect him to do as governor of BayelsaState.
Let it be known that the shameful campaign of calumny against me is not an account of stewardship that should be the focus of a transparency briefing.
“Governor Dickson should used his briefs to explain to the good people of Bayelsa why there is starvation and misery when he has spent over a trillion Naira on non-existent projects leaving the Bayelsa people with no functional roads, hospitals, schools, water, a huge backlog of unpaid salaries and a tattered economy”.
Lokpobiri commended security agencies especially the Joint Task Force (JTF) for their gallantry in stopping the notorious criminal and enjoined them to take out all such criminals in their theater of operation.
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