Bayelsa Denies Reports Attributing Cabinet Shake Up To Dickson’s Rift With First Lady

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News From The State Tuesday, January 6th, 2015

The Bayelsa State Government has described as a deliberate propagation of falsehood and the handiwork of mischief-makers, reports in some sections of the Nigerian media attributing the recent minor cabinet shake up in the State to rifts between Governor Seriake Dickson, President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan.

Bayelsa state Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson

Contrary to the reports, a Government House statement notes that, having been in the saddle for nearly 3 years and knowing that, this is an election year, the Countryman Governor decided to effect the shake up to inject new blood into the system to bring about the needed changes to impact more positively on the people of the State.

And, this was well captured in the Government statement announcing the changes, “In furtherance of his commitment to deliver more robustly on its administration’s restoration agenda, Governor Seriake Dickson has stepped up efforts geared towards re-organizing the machinery of the government”

The statement notes that, this is not the first cabinet shake up under the Restoration Government of Hon. Seriake Dickson and this will surely not be the last, as it will be a continuous exercise, intended to ensure a more robust delivery of the dividends of democracy to Bayelsans.

The reports are clearly the handiwork of mischief makers and politicians, who have failed in their bid to win elections and resorted to propagating falsehood to gain undue relevance as well as cause disaffection between the Bayelsa State Governor and the First family.

It is, therefore, totally untrue that, the Governor, who led the Bayelsa delegation to attend and honour the first family on the occasion of the traditional marriage of the President’s niece, will now turn round to direct political appointees not to attend the same event.

Governor Dickson has always maintained a close relationship with the first family, contrary to the unfounded rumours and insinuations being peddled in the media by this group of failed politicians and their collaborators.

Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Bayelsa State