Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Timipre Sylva and his successor, Mr. Seriake Dickson have continued their public war of words, this time over non-payment of pensions to retirees in the state for five years.
On Monday, Sylva had criticised the administration of the current governor for its string of “failures” that ordinarily should warrant the governor’s resignation.
In a statement released on Monday byhis media adviser, Doifie Buokoribo, Sylva accused the governor of telling a number of lies to cover for his own inadequacies and urged people of the state to remove him from office should he fail to resign.
“Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State is at it again. At a so-called Transparency Briefing at the weekend, newspaper reports quote Dickson as claiming that the Bayelsa State Government under Chief Timipre Sylva never paid pensions to retirees for five years,” he said.
“He claims further that his administration inherited unpaid pension arrears of over N4 billion. Consequently, he would like to establish a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe Sylva.
“We are sick and tired of Dickson’s governance style of always blaming Chief Timipre Sylva for his incompetence and failure. We call upon Dickson to resign now since he has shown that the job for which he was imposed on the people of Bayelsa State is bigger than him. Failing which the people of Bayelsa State should exercise their civic duty to remove him from office using all available constitutional options.”
But Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Iworiso-Markson replied on Tuesday, saying he would not join issues with Sylva, who is a “drowning” man. He explained that the decision of the government to establish the judicial panel was informed by the need to address the deep-seated rot and systematic failures of some civil servants and political leaders.
“These persons working as syndicates have over the years siphoned N5bn meant for the payment of pensioners in the state,” he wrote in a statement.
“Concerned about the plight of these pensioners, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, since coming into office, has paid N1bn to the pensioners in his efforts to clear the backlog.
“While, we are working hard to clear the backlog, the same syndicates, instead of hiding their faces in shame, have chosen to embark on a campaign of calumny and propaganda against the government by inciting some of the pensioners to embark on streets’ protests.”
According to Iworiso-Markson, it is to this end that the government decided to set up the Judicial Commission of Inquiry to ascertain why pensioners were owed pension and gratuities for the past five years and the public servants that have subjected senior citizens to untold hardship.
“It is equally laughable that some people who may have perpetrated the scam are questioning why Governor Dickson limited the period of the investigation to five years,” he added.
