Dennis

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has urged lecturers at the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) to end their seven-month-long sympathy strike with the national body of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Governor Diri insisted that the sympathy industrial action by lecturers of the university was no longer justifiable as they have been receiving their salaries monthly without going to work. He said although the institution’s governoring council had scheduled a meeting with the union, he said the lecturers ought to reciprocate the goodwill of the state government by returning to the classroom in the interest of the students. The governor stated this on Tuesday night at a dinner in honour of the victorious Bayelsa United Football Club in Yenagoa that the state government had sorted out all the issues between it and the institution’s ASUU. Governor Diri noted that lecturers in federal tertiary institutions might have issues with the federal government but that

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye, has called on the Bayelsa Community Safety Corp to expedite action in terms of recruitment and training, saying the people are eager to see them on the street of Yenagoa and in the local government areas. Presiding over the 86th executive council meeting at Government house Yenagao,  Governor Diri expressed optimism that with the new security outfit on stream, and working together with other security agencies, crime and criminality would be reduced to the barest. His words; “Let me also use this opportunity to call on our new outfit, the Bayelsa Community Safety Corp (BCSC), to expedite action in terms of their recruitment training. Bayelsans are eagerly waiting for you to see our new outfit on the streets of Yenagoa and in our Local Government Areas. And I am sure that working together with the communities with the traditional rulers' council and with the people, Bayelsa will become a safe place for investors and where can all sleep with our

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has redeemed the ten million naira, promised to the  state- owned football team, Bayelsa United Football Club, after gaining promotion into the Nigerian professional football league. Recall that  Bayelsa United had defeated Cynosure of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State 2-0 on Saturday at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa to secure  the team’s promotion back to the elite league seven years after dropping out of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL). Speaking at a dinner in honor of the management and players of the Club at the Golden Tulip, Onopa in Yenagoa, Governor Diri,  expressed delight that after several close attempts, the club eventually gained the much-sought promotion to the NPFL. His words;  In appreciation of all that you have also put in, the N10 million naira I promised you is here cash. I like to say that this is the time for you to also take stock, and I'm sure that you will go back to the drawing board and think

  The Federal Government has acquired eight gunboats to combat crude oil theft in the country.   This was as it directed security operatives to clamp down on vandals and oil thieves sabotaging the nation’s economy.   The Minister of Interior,  Rauf Aregbesola stated these while inaugurating the gunboats acquired for use by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Tuesday.   A statement by the Minister’s  Media Adviser, Sola Fasure, also quoted him as directing the NSCDC to collaborate with other security agencies to end the scourge.   The statement partly read, “Those who steal crude oil not only deny the country of the much needed revenue, they sell the stolen goods at discounted prices, well below the market value. This black market creates a glut and forces down the official price. They have therefore made Nigeria suffer the double jeopardy of loss in revenue and drop in value of the product.     The President has given us the resources and the

Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday that he died in Moscow at the age of 91 years.   “Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow said, quoted by the Interfax, TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies.   Gorbachev, who was in power between 1985 and 1991 and helped bring US-Soviet relations out of a deep freeze, was the last surviving Cold War leader.   He spent much of the last two decades on the political periphery, intermittently calling for the Kremlin and the White House to mend ties as tensions soared to Cold War levels since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched an offensive in Ukraine earlier this year.   Gorbachev spent the twilight years of his life in and out of hospital with increasingly fragile health and observed self-quarantine during the pandemic as a precaution against the coronavirus.   Gorbachev was remembered fondly in the West, where he was referred to affectionately by the nickname G

The Federal Government, on Tuesday, inaugurated the Presidential Delivery Tracker and an accompanying website developed by the Central Delivery Coordination Unit.   The PDT/CDCU is designed to track, review and periodically report the activities of MDAs, performances of ministers and permanent secretaries, among others, in the delivery of their ministerial mandates.   Key areas under review include economy, agriculture, energy, transportation, infrastructure, industrialisation, education, healthcare, security, anti-corruption, governance, poverty reduction and social inclusion which, since 2019, formed the ministerial mandates signed by Ministers and their Permanent Secretaries.   Speaking after the launch at the State House Banquet Hall, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha said the CDCU, will track the implementation of Policies, Programmes and Projects of Ministries along the nine Priority Areas of the Federal Government.   He assured Stakeholders that feedba

  The Federal Government through the National Universities Commission has convened a meeting with the vice-chancellors, pro-chancellors and management of Federal universities in line with the ongoing strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities..   Bayelsa Daily online gathered that the meeting is expected to hold on September 6, 2022, at the NUC secretariat in Abuja.   This was convened in a letter written by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Administration, of the NUC, Chris Maiyaki and addressed to all pro-chancellors, chairmen of councils, and vice-chancellors of Federal universities.   “As the Pro-Chancellors and Chairmen of Councils and the Vice-Chancellors are quite aware the industrial action by university-based unions has led to the closure of the institutions since February 2022.   “You are also aware that the non-teaching unions have suspended their industrial actions with effect from August 24, 2022, while a final decision is being awaited from ASUU.   “It has be

Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has appealed to Nigerian women not to give in to challenges but continue to appreciate and perform their role as a critical success factor in nation-building. Senator Ewhrudjakpo, made the assertion on Tuesday when the Bayelsa chapter of the Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN) visited him in Government House, Yenagoa.  The Deputy Governor said no nation that denies women of their rightful place in society could make any appreciable and sustainable progress. Highlighting the responsibilities of women, he described Christian women as indispensable to building a virile church and a peaceful society where love and the fear of God prevail. Senator Ewhrudjakpo pointed out that every child passes through the care and nurture of a mother, who is expected to play a greater role of imparting the right values of both family and society in the children. According to him, deviants such as  prostitutes, cultists, a

The Governor of Bayelsa State State, Senator Douye Diri today received the first successfully separated conjoined twins in southern Nigeria at the Bayelsa International Airport, Amassoma Bayelsa State. The conjoined twins, Grace Ayebainemi Ralpheal and Mercy Ayebainemi Ralpheal hail from Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo who represented the Governor, while congratulating the parents commended the medical team for their meticulous efforts which brought about the success of the operation here in Nigeria. He commended President Mohammadu Buhari, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Abubakar Sadique, and the medical teams from Federal Medical Centre, Yola and its Yenagoa counterpart for their various contributions. Describing the twins as special babies, he said apart from crude oil, the state has achieved another remarkable historical feat by producing the first successfully operated Siamese twins in the South-south region of the

As the 2023 general elections draw closer, Nigerians have  been cautioned to avoid the mistakes they made in 2015 and 2019 to save the country from total collapse. The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made the call at Saint Barnabas Anglican Church, Sagbama, during the second session of the fifth synod of the Western Izon Diocese of the Anglican Communion. Senator Ewhrudjakpo, in a statement issued at the weekend by his media aide, Mr Doubara Atasi, warned that failure to vote wisely in the upcoming general elections would spell greater doom in every sphere of national life The Deputy Governor said instead of wasting time  engaging in unnecessary debates, churches should sensitize their members to vote for the party that will promote the growth and development of Christianity as well as the unity, security and economic wellbeing of the country. He insisted that repeating the mistakes of the past was tantamount to madness caused by the proverbial dog bitin

  The South-South Elders Progressive Forum has accused the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), of plotting to favour Edo State over Bayelsa State in the appointment of a Managing Director for the Niger Delta Development Commission.   SSEPF also accused the AGF of trying to mislead the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on the constitution of a substantive board for the NDDC.   The forum said the AGF was creating confusion by misinterpreting to the Presidency the provisions of Section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act 2000 as it relates to the appointment of the agency’s managing director.   The South-South elders warned against setting the Niger Delta region on fire.   This was contained in a statement titled, ‘NDDC: Don’t set Niger Delta on Fire, South-South elders warn Malami… Accuse AGF of misleading Buhari on NDDC Act.’   The statement was signed by the forum’s Chairman, Dr. Promise Okpolo; and Coordinator, Community Relations,

A meeting of the National Executive Council of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities started in Abuja on Sunday.   Bayelsa Daily online gathered that the union is expected to take a final decision on whether to continue its industrial action that entered the 196th day on Monday (today) at the meeting holding at its national headquarters at the University of Abuja.   As of the time of filing this report on Sunday evening, the meeting was still ongoing amidst anxiety that the union may extend the strike based on the outcomes of the meetings of most of its branches held last week.   ASUU had declared the commencement of a strike on Monday, February 14, 2022, at the University of Lagos.   A member of the NEC, who did not want his name in print because he is not the union’s spokesman, told journalists in Abuja noted that most local congresses voted for strike extension.   “We expect nothing less. Most of the congresses voted for an indefinite strike. The NEC takes decisions base

  The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party is presently divided over the demand by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, must resign before he would agree to reconcile with the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.   Top party members confided in The PUNCH on Sunday that the NWC members were sharply split between those who endorsed the calls for Ayu’s removal and the ones that were against the idea.   Wike and Atiku fell apart after the former vice-president emerged as the PDP presidential candidate and selected the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate over Wike who was recommended by a panel set up by the party.   Although the PDP set up a panel to reconcile the two men, Wike’s insistence on removing the party chairman as a condition for peace had continued to generate tension in the main opposition party.   Wike had accused Ayu of being impartial, noting that he had earlier promised to