The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Bayelsa State, has slammed the State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, over his alleged refusal to completely pay the gratuities and pension arrears to pensioners who had meritoriously served the state.
The party also accused of refusing to clear the backlog of civil servants salaries and other benefits they are entitled to.
The APC, made their position known in a statement by the member representing Brass-Nembe Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Israel Sunny-Goli, and sent to DAILY POST
through his media assistant, Sam Dogitimi.
Sunny-Goli, said from all indications, the outgoing Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson, is planning to bequeath monumental liabilities to frustrate the incoming administration.
The lawmaker bemoaned the refusal of the current government to completely pay the gratuities and pension arrears to pensioners who had meritoriously served the state, as well as clear the backlog of civil servants salaries and other benefits they are entitled to.
He maintained that Dickson spent most part of his entire eight years misappropriating the state funds, taking different types of unnecessary loans, and at the same time polarizing the “Jerusalem” of the Ijaw nation, Bayelsa State, without putting any significant infrastructural and human capital development in place.
According to the lawmaker, “Dickson’s wickedness started from his first tenure when he denied severance payment to those who served under the Chief Timipre Sylva-led administration, except those who joined the restoration government for fear of intimidation.
“He denied me my severance benefits as Special Adviser to former Governor Timipre Sylva on Youth Matters because of my refusal to join the restoration administration.
“He also made sure I never got my statutory benefits while I was a member of the state assembly until I took the then speaker to the Code of Conduct Bureau. The case is still pending in the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“Despite the availability of funds, we have gathered that Governor Dickson has decided not to pay the severance benefits to the immediate past members of the 5th Bayelsa State Assembly, because he intends leaving it to the incoming government to increase its financial burden.”
