Bayelsa May Swear-In New Commissioners, This Week

The 26 nominees for the membership of Bayelsa State Executive Council may be sworn-in this week as the State House of Assembly last Tuesday commenced their screening, which was forwarded to it by Governor Seriake Dickson.

If all the nominees are cleared, as it has became a norm for State Houses of Assemblies across the country, Bayelsa State under Dickson is likely to have the largest State Executive Council the state has ever had since its creation in 1996.

The Assembly had last week officially announced, through the office of the Clerk of the House, that it would begin screening of the nominees from Wednesday but made a detour.

Majority of the nominees are believed to be loyalists of President Goodluck Jonathan; his kinsman and paramount ruler of Opume community in Ogbia Local Government Area, Amalate Turner; former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and former Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Matters, Timi Alaibe.

Sixteen of the 26 commissioner-nominees were screened by the Assembly, including pioneer president of the Ijaw Youth Council ((IYC), Felix Tuodolo, former Acting Chairman of the state’s Capital City Development Authority (CCDA), Furuebi Akene, former Council Chairman of Ogbia Local Government, Mitema Obordor and former Deputy Director-General of Dickson’s campaign organisation, Marie Ebikake.

Other are the immediate past Acting Chairman of the PDP, James Dugo, Francis Egele, Mrs. Sarafina Otazi, Thomas Commander, Akpoebide Alamieyeseigha, Salo Adikumo, Lawrence Erudjakpo, Dein Benadoumene, Nelson Belief, Markson Fefegha, William Alamene and Gesiye Isowo.

Dein Benadoumene and Nelson Belief, who are former members of the Assembly, were asked to take a bow and leave the sacred floors of the Assembly.

Speaker of the Assembly, Konbowei Benson had during the screening the screening that the screening exercise was not a witch-hunt and but a constitutional responsibility of the Assembly.

Benson had urged them to conduct themselves in a manner that would show that they merited their nomination.

Seventeen lawmakers of the 24-memb assembly were present at the sitting, including the speaker.

Most of the enquires posed by the lawmakers to the commissioner-nominees bothered on personal issues and their credentials.

The screening of the remaining members ended on Friday.