BAYELSA STATE: AS THE VULTURES GATHER TO FEAST (1)
Abraham Lincoln in a speech to Illinois Legislature in 1837 said “Politicians are a set of men who have interests aside from the interest of the people and who; to say the most of them are taken as a mass, at least one long step removed from honest men”. The rarest commodity in Nigerian’s political landscape is honest men who could live to the ideals of the party to fulfill the yearnings of the people but political mercantilists are not in short supply.
The political weather is thickening and the cloud is getting murkier. Verily, the time for politicking is near. Creek Haven which is presently occupied by a visionary leader Governor Seriake Dickson may be tested to her limit, with the ongoing back-stabbings, mudslinging, betrayals and self-serving actions of the gladiators including those who want to eat with double hands. Indeed the vultures are beginning to gather to feast. Vultures’ kettle around their prey in the venue where they devour their prey. Vultures feed on the remains of dead animals and are never too fussy about what is left. They are known to strip meat, skin and even feathers, leaving only the skeleton of the animal remaining. A great many of politicians in Bayelsa landscape behave like the vulture.
In Bayelsa State, everybody appears to be a politician. This is against the background of the fact that the State has no industries and very little private enterprise, which in most cases is in the hands of settlers. Thus the main business in Bayelsa State is Government and this gives rise to unnecessary power tussle. More often than the power games degenerate to dirty wars, where dirty linens are washed in the public. At such times, name calling becomes familiar, which primordial sentiments are allowed to play out to such a bizarre level that politics becomes a do-or-die affair. In Bayelsa State, because of the rather poor orientation of the electorate who has been hoodwinked to believing that good governance is synonymous to money sharing, leaders who assume office and make performance their article of faith are often derided, criticized and vilified.
I decided to use the despicable term “Vultures” as an allusion to those politicians who eat rotten money and gangrenous dividends meant for the provision of the quality of life services – those who corner the commonwealth meant for the poor. They are the vultures who peddle vile and vicious propaganda to poison the minds of the people and misrepresent government policies, plans and programmes. This category of politicians are ever present in any government but like the vulture, they eat up their bodies and they are so voraciously equipped with destructive tendencies that they do so with incredible speed and mindless temerity.
When they succeed in putting down their political opponents, the feast on the carcass with voluptuous appetite, like a vulture and its prey not minding the bacteria in it. Like vultures, they can go at all length, decamp from their parties, abandon their professed friends and join hands with primitive accumulators to lay siege on the land, pillage it and render it desolate. They are politically carnivorous and they have a deserved reputation as scavengers because of the mad economic opportunism running through their veins.
This analysis will be incomplete without turning attention to the specific activities of some political carnivores who like vultures, have gathered to feast.
Chief Diekevie Ikiogha: This Epie Chief is a very fortunate man by virtue of his connections and group of friends he has. Sadly, he has an unedifying history of betrayal. He has used his position to convert most of the lands belonging to his kinsmen hence he has no respect in his community. Since Bayelsa State was created he has been an active player in almost all administrations. In former Governor Timipre Sylva’s administration, he served in various capacities but he was betrayed by his atrocities. One of them was the converting of N3 billion Agricultural loan for farmers. It was discovered that Chief Diekevie Ikiogha lavished the money to build his personal estates in Yenagoa. An NGO has already placed a demand that the petty Epie Chief should cough out the money or get dragged to court.
Chief Diekivie Ikiogha is also credited to the digging of the so called Fish Pond in from of Okaka and investigations revealed that this contract gulped the sum of N4.5billion. Furious about the deceit of Chief Ikiogha, former Governor Timipre Sylva also used his swagger stick on Ikiogha’s head for the wicked act of misappropriating public funds and goading him to embark on a project that was not viable.
During the Governor Seriake Dickson Administration, Chief Ikiogha was appointed Chief-of-Staff – a position he almost used to undermine the high ideals of the Restoration Administration. To know whether he would have a change of heart, he was sent to head the Abuja office but there he conspired with the anti-progressive elements to undermine the government once more. While his political interest has been to undermine the basic tenets of Restoration, the Restoration leadership treated him like a brother and friend. He has decamped to the APC. It is laughable that he could decamp to the APC when he parades scant electoral value. If his political career in the PDP was fraught with fraud and mismanagement, APC will certainly not trust him. Chief Ikiogha is that specie of vulture that eats anything ranging from palm nuts, figs, fish and other birds including insects and maggots. His new found love APC and the electorate is watching.
Timipre Sylva: The news that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has again filed fresh corruption charges against former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, before a the Federal High Court, Abuja did not come as a surprise. EFCC’s Head, Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement that the fresh 50 counts of corruption were filed on Friday. The reason is that all the substantive matters about the multi-billion corruption cases have not been tried. There are strong indications that the embattled former Governor bribed the EFCC lawyer to mess up court processes.
The genesis of Timipre Sylva’s corruption is well known to so many people. It is now known also that he left behind a debt burden of In 2009, revenue inflows into the State dwindled because of militancy, which affected the State's quota of oil production. This rationalized the N50 billion bond obtained by the government. Timipre Sylva converted the bond money into his personal property and did nothing about the projects.
Sylva was given the unenviable record of the most traveled governor in Nigeria. Under the guise of scouting for investors the tax payers’ money was used for junketing around Europe, Asia, Latin America, Norway, Israel and Vietnam among other countries. The ulterior motive was to invest Bayelsa resources in private businesses. It was not surprising that the several MOUs signed by government were not been implemented. Bayelsa State entered into an MOU with Vietnamese on rice cultivation, Israelis on vegetable cultivation, Norwegians on shrimp culturing and with First Bank Plc on Housing. None of these MOUs was implemented. For more than four years Bayelsa State could not boast of one foreign investor so all the balderdash about looking for investors were diversionary.
Timipre Sylva engaged in extra-budgetary expenses and this was accomplished by excessive borrowing from banks and other financial institutions. The administration procured loans: N6 billion from Bank PHB, N60 billion from Oceanic Bank PLC and N4billion from Equatorial Trust Bank and all was done with impunity and without the approval of the State executive council and the Bayelsa State House of Assembly. Bayelsans were made to believe that the N50 Billion bond was for the development of infrastructure but since the bond was secured, the Senatorial District roads, the Model Secondary Schools and other projects that justified the bond were not implemented. This is the height of official deception, executive recklessness and impunity.
The corruption profile of the administration appears to be the worse we have seen since Bayelsa State was created. Allegations are rife that Governor Sylva failed to declare his assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau before and after assuming the office of the Personal Assistant to the minister of energy and later petroleum – which means that on assumption of office as Governor, most of his assets were not known. There was the case of fraudulent diversion of N27 billion naira excess crude of April 2008 to May 2008 for the re-run gubernatorial election and bribing the members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly with N2.6 billion naira to secure a post-procurement approval for the bank loans. Another allegation is the fraudulent transfer of N40 million dollars to a docile account of the Bayelsa State Oil- Company with the intention of transferring the funds into private accounts as well as the criminal diversion of N500 million released by the federal
government for the construction of the State airport.
Apart from glaring cases of over-invoicing, in the award of Road contracts, government is believed to have spent an outrageous N 37 billion on an already completed 500-Bed Hospital including the awards of an over-inflated 7 billion naira contract for the renovation of Opolo Health Centre. These allegations do not include diversion of state funds to finance private businesses, buying up choice property and the mindless running of foreign accounts by top government functionaries. It is estimated that Bayelsa State might have lost over N380 billion to corruption under the Sylva administration. It was these allegations and public outcry that led to the ugly incident of publicly stoning the Governor- which was symbolic of rejection by his people.
Mr. Sylva is a serial breaker of promises and this includes non-implementation of the budget. From 2008 till date, no budget has been implemented. Analysis shows that government's budget compliance index is below 40%. Research has shown that from 2007 till 2011, Government House and Governor's office appropriate more money than five Ministries: Water Resources; Environment; Women Affairs and Social Development; Commerce and Industry and Agriculture put together. When Government House and the Governor's office are used as conduit-pipes, making it easy for top government functionaries to operate several foreign accounts and own choice properties abroad and the anti-graft agencies are not quick in coming.
Objective analysts now know that the Sylva administration lacked the sagacity in dealing with critical issues of State matters. For three whole years, the administration did not conduct Council elections and the result was the mindless diversion of Council funds. This was done with the connivance with The confrontational posturing of the Governor against President Jonathan seems to be the most buffeting of his veranda behavior. The body language of Governor Timipre Marlin Sylva bespoke the dilemma he had found himself. The Governor became a victim of the evil machinations of selfish advisers, political godfathers with messianic posturing and spiritualists who were willing to turn him into Boko Haramite to do damage to the system or engage in self-immolation.
Sylva’s administration was characterized by monumental fraud, excessive borrowing and sharp practices. He left behind N4, 451 in the coffers while leaving a debt burden of N257 billion plus an interest of N75billion.What a callous man? MDG money amounting to N3billion was mismanaged by former Governor Sylva’s SSG Mr. Gideon Ekewei and nobody complained about the mismanagement. EFCC is aware of this matter too.
The “Ghost Workers syndrome”: Government pay vouchers were inundated with ghost workers who were receiving salaries without working. This resulted in a bloated wage bill of N4.8billion. Even the Due Process and E-Governance Bureau only exacerbated corruption. Another example is the N3billion was earmarked as loans for Agriculture but the money was misappropriated by only one Mr. Ikiogha Diekevie the then Commissioner and no punishment was meted out to him.
The Administration did not pay attention to development at all. All the MDG money that accrued to Bayelsa State during Timipre Sylva’s tenure got lost between the SSG, the Finance Commissioner and he the Governor. Not even one MGD project was embarked upon. For as long as Timipre Sylva was governor, he neglected every part of Bayelsa State in terms of development. Council Elections were not conducted for three years. This is in breach of the constitution. The effect of using caretaker Committee Chairmen was the illegal deduction of monies accruing to Local Government Councils.
Timipre Sylva is in a class of his own when the issue of corruption is discussed in Bayelsa State. On assumption of office, Mr. Timipre Marlin incorporated a Company called MARLIN MARITIME LIMITED. Marlin Maritime bought a Company for Eight Hundred Million N800 Million and the money wassourced from FINBANK Plc. The business was facilitated by a former Commissioner for Finance in the State. MARLIN MARITIME LIMITED deals with dredgers, tugboats, fishing trawlers and other sea-going vessels. The office is situated in Port Harcourt; Rivers State. The General Manager of the Company is one Mr. Gbenga. What resulted was that MARLIN MARITIME LIMITED could not defray the FinBank loan.
In December, 2010, the Bank took a court order and sealed off the premises, making Malin Maritime to reschedule the loan with FinBank Marlin Maritime Limited has its headquarters near Aberdeen Port Scotland in the United Kingdom and its Port Harcourt office is in D/Line Port Harcourt. Since then, Marlin Maritime is believed to have defrauded the State to the tune of N6.9 billion. Governor Timipre established the Company as Governor of Bayelsa State and this company defrauds the State to the tune of N90 million a month. So Mr. Timipre breached the Code of Conduct Rules, and used his company to influence contracts to his company. Part of the loots was used to establish a Newspaper called THE MOMENT NEWSPAPER in Lagos.
The Bayelsa State House of Assembly was not sufficiently consulted before the Sylva administration went ahead to procure some dead weight loans from financial institutions: N6 billion from Bank PHB; N60 billion from Oceanic Bank PLC and N4billion from Equatorial Trust Bank. Our man had a chat with the House Committee Chairman on appropriation said the Assembly members were not bribed but they knew that the series of loans were intended to solve certain infrastructural problems but sadly, monies appropriated were not properly applied.
The key players in Marlin Maritime Limited are: Governor Timipre Sylva, Mr. Gbenga – who is the General Manager of Marlin Maritime and Ms. Okoroafor who serves as Secretary to the Company. One Ahmed looks after Governor Sylva's Jetty at Abuloma-Port Harcourt and some Bankers involved in the deal. All these are a part of the cronies and fleecing clan of the Governor. Part of the loots from Marline Maritime Limited was used by Governor Sylva to award a Contract to NO.1 Property to build Sixty-one (61) duplexes in a choice area in Abuja. The same Company was used to build another Sixteen (16) duplexes in Abuja. The wife of the owner of NO 1 Property is one of the best friends of Mrs. Alayingi (UDUAK) Sylva. The manager of the entire process of building the duplexes is one Mr. Iyke – a former Laundry man at Beverly Hills Hotel, GRA Port Harcourt.
The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (centre LSD) with support of Pact Nigeria from 5th -6th September, 2011 at Niger Delta Wetlands Centre, organized a budget awareness workshop in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Analysis of the Bayelsa State budget shows that government house and governor's office received more budget allocation than agriculture, commerce and industry, women affairs and social development, environment and waterresources put together from 2008-2010. By the same token, the study showed that the only sectors that maintained a steady increase in terms of the percentage share of the budget allocation over the years (2007-2011) was the state House of Assembly, Government house, and Governor's office and health sectors. No report can be more indicting than the LSD report.
Unconfirmed reports also point to the fact that there was fraudulent diversion of an undisclosed sum of money during the period when so much excess crude oil money was collected. It has been suggested that the sum of N27 billion naira excess crude of April 2008 to the May 2008 re-run gubernatorial election and bribing the members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly with 2.6 billion naira to secure a post-procurement approval for the bank loans. Our team also confirmed that there was another wave of fraudulent transfer of $40 million dollars to a docile account of the Bayelsa State Oil- Company with the intention of transferring the funds into private accounts. This deal was facilitated by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Assembly.
Timipre Sylva is a set back to Bayelsa State as he stagnated the development of the State. He stole more than one-third of the allocations that accrued to the State and ran Nigeria like his personal empire where he was the generalissimo. A man of such grubby pedigree now claims to be the Chairman of APC in Bayelsa State and canvassing for the votes of the electorate. For those who are aware of the corrupt activities of Timipre Sylva, the best way Bayelsans can express their displeasure is to stone him for the second time. He left behind a crippling debt of N332billion, which the Governor Seriake Dickson administration has defrayed substantially.
The vomit of a vulture, followed by the action of flying away, is the most common defensive tactic against an adversary. This is one character Sylva displays so much. Like a vulture, Timipre Sylva can go at considerable distances for a meal and he is struggling to reposition himself as a self-professed leader of APC to see how the centre can manipulate him to escape justice. He metaphorically urinates on his legs and stands on the rot he has fed on and that is what it takes to lead a Political Party in Bayelsa State where the incumbent Governor has done excellently well within the limits of available resources. The masses are aware that they will not be a part of the deceit because once bitten, twice shy.
Morally speaking, it is most disheartening that such political mercantilists have besieged the State and the only language they understand is SHARE THE MONEY to the detriment of developing the State. It was Mahatma Ghandi’s who said several years ago that “politics without principles is a sin”. This exactly is what all these decampees politicians have shown: personal aggrandizement, dishonesty and lack of political principle. All these unholy alignments and re-alignments in Bayelsa State by the APC will fail and the PDP WILL TRIUMPH BEYOND THE IMAGINATION OF THE PEOPLE.
Bashorun Olaniyi, writes from Lagos.