Office of governor restrictive, a glorified prison, says Dickson

Governor Seriake Dickson has described the office of state chief executive as a glorified prison where rules of officialdom restrict certain interactions.

He, however, appreciated friends and acquaintances for their support in seeing him become the first to do two uninterrupted terms in office as Bayelsa State govenor.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Fidelis Soriwei, Dickson was quoted to have made the statement when he played host to the Law students of the 1992 set of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology at Government House, Yenagoa.

The governor added that for God’s intervention, he would not have been able to set the record.

He said: “I thank you for your abiding solidarity. This is not the first time individually and collectively you have been here to encourage and support me in all this period that I have remained here as governor yet, and in some sense, as a glorified prisoner.

Dickson pointed out that God was not through with him yet, as he never imagined he was going to become governor of Bayelsa State but grace and the mercies of the Almighty took him to where he is now.

He observed that it was a difficult task to govern Bayelsa, emphsising that the more progress he made, the more people tried to blackmail him, adding that he had done his best for the people, believing that his name would be prominently mentioned whenever the history of the state is written vis-à-vis those that impacted it development-wise.

On the November 16,2019 gubernatorial election, the governor again accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of “compromising the integrity and legitimacy of the outcome.”

He feared that his “lofty achievements in the education sector such as the free education programme, education trust fund and the unrivalled health insurance scheme could be eroded by the opposition government which is determined to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it.”

Dickson nonetheless expressed confidence in the judiciary to do justice to their pending two cases at the Court of Appeal in the interest of the citizens.

In separate their remarks, Kenneth Chukwuemeka Eke and Chuks Ughuro, who spoke on behalf of the other classmates, extolled the governor, describing him as a “phenomenal and visionary leader, an academic and philosopher whose tenure impacted lives positively and transformed the state.”