By Samuel Oyadongha

YENAGOA—Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, yesterday, defended the appointment of Chief David Dokubo-Spiff as Secretary to the State Government and Mr. Duate Iyabi as Chief Economic Adviser, describing them as technocrats.

•Gov Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa

He said that the choice of the SSG was informed by Dokubo-Spiff’s wealth of experience as a legal practitioner and his administrative acumen.

According to the governor, “These are critical to his new role as the one to pilot the bureaucratic machinery and the secretariat of government.”
Dickson, in a statement, said both the SSG, Dokubo-Spiff and the Chief Economic Adviser, Mr. Iyabi, who were sworn in on Tuesday in Yenagoa, have track records of service and equally understand the direction and foundation of the new administration.

Dickson, who showered encomiums on the new SSG, expressed confidence in his ability and sense of judgment, stressing that as the engine room of the administration, the entire bureaucracy of the state will look up to him for direction.

He said: “As a man who understands the issues of development of the state and as a former acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, he has the administrative capability to steer the ship of the secretariat and bureaucracy of the state, given his knowledge as a legal luminary.

“I want to commend his dedication to steer the ship of state at this very critical time. As a passionate believer in the Ijaw nation, his loyalty can never be faulted, coupled with his track record of service and commitment to our collective aspiration as a people.”