By the demands of his office, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State is supposed to be resident in the state capital of Yenogoa in order to take full charge of state affairs. However, a growing number of critics, including lawmakers and civic activists, are accusing Mr. Dickson of overstaying in Abuja and making sporadic visits to Yenagoa.
“Governor Dickson seems to find Abuja more accommodating these days,” said a state legislator. “He comes here (to Yenogoa) only sparingly, when it pleases him.”
 
Governor Dickson, who was handpicked by President Goodluck Jonathan to run for Bayelsa governorship, was accused of hovering around the president and First Lady in Abuja while state governance suffers.
 
A bureaucrat in the state told SaharaReporters that Mr. Dickson’s frequent trips outside the state were seriously hampering government business. He remarked that heaps of files often pile up awaiting the governor’s attention, adding that many ongoing projects were stalled as the governor “holds the keys to the treasury and no funds are released to fund government activities when he is not around.”
 
An opposition politician in the state disclosed that some key government functionaries cash in on the governor’s laissez faire attitude to work. “Some commissioners and permanent secretaries abandon their duty posts only to show up when they hear that the governor has come to town,” he said.
 
An associate of the absentee governor said Mr. Dickson had decided to be around President Jonathan in order to avoid falling victim to the kind of political undercurrents that swept away his immediate predecessor, Timipre Sylva.
 
“Governor Dickson is only playing smart knowing full well that the biggest opposition he has is within the PDP in the state. He knows that should he allow any little space between him and President Jonathan, the political forces in the state would overtake him,” the administration insider said.
 
A source within the Presidency revealed that Mr. Dickson stays around the president a lot and spends some time stoking the fire of a simmering political battle between Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State and Mr. Jonathan. Governor Dickson has also made himself as a major foot soldier for Mr. Jonathan’s 2015 re-election bid.
 
A correspondent of SaharaReporters talked to numerous residents of Bayelsa State. Most of few complained about Mr. Dickson’s absenteeism and his style of administration. One respondent, a civil servant, accused the governor of running a “one man show.” He stressed that the state appears to be under lock-and-key whenever the governor was out of the state.
A former police officer, Mr. Dickson is accused by human rights activists in the state of running Bayelsa with crude force. In a recent move, he clamped down on free speech by sending a bill to the state assembly to criminalize “rumor mongering.”
 
The secretary of the state’s public information management committee, Idumange John could not be reached for comments when contacted on the ‘hotlines’ provided by the committee.


http://saharareporters.com/news-page/aso-rock-houseboy-governor-bayelsas-seriake-dickson-called-absentee-resides-mostly-abuja

Sahara Reporters is a owned by a Pessimist Diasporan Nigerian, who sees nothing good in his country, but has no capacity to mix up with the whites, his true masters. He finds any bad news from Nigeria and blows it out of proportion. Today, they are calling Seriake Dickson a houseboy. Is this Journalism ? Or Just finding ways to keep destroying the image of the country and countrymen he so hates, yet he is not able to totally alienate himself from his black skin. I hardly see an American resident in a foreign country, setting up website to smear the image of his country and countrymen, But Sowore is a Hero to the Pessimists, who see nothing good about the colour of their skin. When they look themselves in the mirror, they see a white man's slave. It happens that the foreign media quotes from the unproven sources when they want to pour negative campaigns against Nigeria. Sowore and Sahara Reporters are Iscariots!

Sahararepoters can construct fabrications (stories) with Autocad sha, this piece of trash lacks substance of basic reportage, much as I consider Dickson a thieving oaf, my objective mindset wouldn't buy this story if it was sold for free

talktimi: Sahararepoters can construct fabrications (stories) with Autocad sha, this piece of trash lacks substance of basic reportage, much as I consider Dickson a thieving oaf, my objective mindset wouldn't buy this story if it was sold for free

Hehehehe.... Na so we see am o. Today's Nigerian Media..... The most glaring thing about this 'report' is that NONE of d PERSONS who supposedly supplied d Info for d article was actuali mentiond ie all d 'Sources' were convinently ANONYMOUS: the State lawmakers (no names), the Activists (no names), d close Associate of d Gov (no name), d Presidency source (no name), the Civil servant (no names), the NUMEROUS Bayelsa Residents d writer apparently interviewd (no names). In fact, d ONLY person whose name was mentiond (John Idumange, Sec of State Info Committee) could not be reachd for comments. How Convenient!!

taharqa: Hehehehe.... Na so we see am o. Today's Nigerian Media..... The most glaring thing about this 'report' is that NONE of d PERSONS who supposedly supplied d Info for d article was actuali mentiond ie all d 'Sources' were convinently ANONYMOUS: the State lawmakers (no names), the Activists (no names), d close Associate of d Gov (no name), d Presidency source (no name), the Civil servant (no names), the NUMEROUS Bayelsa Residents d writer apparently interviewd (no names). In fact, d ONLY person whose name was mentiond (John Idumange, Sec of State Info Committee) could not be reachd for comments. How Convenient!!

I can authoritatively tell you that all the "sources" ie in the house of assembly, civil service, governors aide and presidency are one person and he is the one who wrote the article and the John Idumange that couldn't be "reached" is perhaps the most accessible person in Yenagoa if you're minutely serious to get him. Fvckin pricks smh

Billyonaire: Sahara Reporters is a owned by a Pessimist Diasporan Nigerian, who sees nothing good in his country, but has no capacity to mix up with the whites, his true masters. He finds any bad news from Nigeria and blows it out of proportion. Today, they are calling Seriake Dickson a houseboy. Is this Journalism ? Or Just finding ways to keep destroying the image of the country and countrymen he so hates, yet he is not able to totally alienate himself from his black skin. I hardly see an American resident in a foreign country, setting up website to smear the image of his country and countrymen, But Sowore is a Hero to the Pessimists, who see nothing good about the colour of their skin. When they look themselves in the mirror, they see a white man's slave. It happens that the foreign media quotes from the unproven sources when they want to pour negative campaigns against Nigeria. Sowore and Sahara Reporters are Iscariots!

Look at this yahoo yahoo meadow... Is Seriake not an Aso Rock house boy What project meaningful to the average Bayelsan has He carried out since becoming the governor of that state?

talktimi: I can authoritatively tell you that all the "sources" ie in the house of assembly, civil service, governors aide and presidency are one person and he is the one who wrote the article and the John Idumange that couldn't be "reached" is perhaps the most accessible person in Yenagoa if you're minutely serious to get him. Fvckin pricks smh

Thesame Sahara Reporters told us that Patience Jonathan was undergoing surgery in Germany when the likes of Reuben Abati were insisting and telling us she was on vacation, NO?

Thesame Sahara Reporters that Jonathan vindicated on live t.v. programme when he admits to have learnt about the demise of his junior brother Meni Jonathan on the pages of Sahara Reporters, even though the incident occurred few meters away from him in Aso Rock, NO?


Thesame Sahara Reporters that told us the truth about the epileptic state of yar adua's health, even when the presidency and the cabals were busy telling us high stories about how yar adua was working out and watching arsenal match, NO?

I'd rather go with Sahara Reporters, even if I later found out they lied than Reuben Abati or Doyin Okupe or Labaran Maku and his 40 man laptop crews.

Rhino.5dm:


Thesame Sahara Reporters told us that Patience Jonathan was undergoing surgery in Germany when the likes of Reuben Abati were insisting and telling us she was on vacation, NO?

Thesame Sahara Reporters that Jonathan vindicated on live t.v. programme when he admits to have learnt about the demise of his junior brother Meni Jonathan on the pages of Sahara Reporters, even though the incident occurred few meters away from him in Aso Rock, NO?


Thesame Sahara Reporters that told us the truth about the epileptic state of yar adua's health, even when the presidency and the cabals were busy telling us high stories about how yar adua was working out and watching arsenal match NO?

I'd rather go with Sahara Reporters, even if I later found out they lied than Reuben Abati or Doyin Okupe or Labaran Maku and his 40 man laptop crews.

suit yourself, its a free world

Billyonaire: Sahara Reporters is a owned by a Pessimist Diasporan Nigerian, who sees nothing good in his country, but has no capacity to mix up with the whites, his true masters. He finds any bad news from Nigeria and blows it out of proportion. Today, they are calling Seriake Dickson a houseboy. Is this Journalism ? Or Just finding ways to keep destroying the image of the country and countrymen he so hates, yet he is not able to totally alienate himself from his black skin. I hardly see an American resident in a foreign country, setting up website to smear the image of his country and countrymen, But Sowore is a Hero to the Pessimists, who see nothing good about the colour of their skin. When they look themselves in the mirror, they see a white man's slave. It happens that the foreign media quotes from the unproven sources when they want to pour negative campaigns against Nigeria. Sowore and Sahara Reporters are Iscariots!

To be fair, Sowore himself describes Sahara Reporters as a "citizen-journalism" site. He doesn't pretend to portrait the site as an authentic media company. Therefore, most journalism rules aren't applicable to SR.
On the bolded, Glenn Greenwald, an American constitutional lawyer, has a column in the UK Guardian where he criticizes the Obama administration, and US foreign policy in general.

talktimi: suit yourself, its a free world

Next time, you lying scums should measure your stupidity before splashing it on nairaland. Imagine fools criticizing Sahara Reporters that is by far more credible than them.

Rhino.5dm:


Next time, you lying scums should measure your stupidity before splashing it on nairaland. Imagine fools criticizing Sahara Reporters that is by far more credible than them.

same ol' empty huffing and puffing coming from nairaland's very own rhinoceros. Your stup/d outbursts never cease to amaze me. Please keep up the entertainment