THE salient contents in the inaugural speech of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson as the fourth civilian Governor of Bayelsa State, no doubt, have kept the hope of building a new Bayelsa alive, with the sole objective of achieving rapid transformation.

WHEN the Niger Delta region was teetering towards the brink of great turmoil, it appeared as though this Nigeria, because of her stark dependence on the region’s ‘black gold’ to run the engine of governance, was heading towards the much-dreaded secession of component units.

THE endorsement of Governor Adams Oshiomhole as the Bini candidate by the Palace of the Oba of Benin, last week, must have left a pill, too bitter to swallow, in the mouth of the PDP candidate, Charles Airhiavbere and his supporters because it has completely rubbished the plans of his leader, Chief Tony Anenih and Mr Dan Orbih, the state party chairman who influenced his emergence as the PDP flagbearer.

HE is lethal, he is dangerous, he is very vicious. His name Pedro perhaps is his nom de guerre; others call him Mr. K. His presence in Iba Housing Estate sends shivers down the spines of residents.

IN the next couple of days, Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio will be receiving the garlands of honour as the Silverbird Governor of the Year.

I have just returned from Maiduguri where I went to felicitate with the diocesan who was celebrating his 22nd year of consecration as well as having a thanksgiving service for a successful synod. The theme of the synod was…with God nothing is impossible” (Mt.19:26).

In this period under review, the harmony between Governor Idris Wada and his deputy, Arc. Yomi Awoniyi has never been doubted. Their relationship has worked perfectly well with all the positive benefits associated with delegation.

IN the last few years, Delta State government began an economic transformation programme. A transformation that demanded we completely remodel how we develop our state from the old ways to a new one, to guarantee our prosperity and survival. Which we tagged “Delta Beyond Oil.”

First of all, the Farouk Lawan led ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives (HOR) found that the official daily consumption of petrol across the country is 35 million litres per day. In the first instance, this figure is in doubt as the figures officially declared in the preceding years proved to be unreliable before the committee.

I ATTENDED the last District Conference of Rotary International District 9140 recently. A team of Argentine nationals led by Rotarian Ricardo Cravero, a chemical engineer, was at the Conference as Group Study Exchange, GSE, and they lectured Rotarians on some salient issues about Argentina.

NEWS report has it that a clandestine Radio Biafra Station has been established to broadcast from London. According to the Director of the Radio Station, the reason for the resuscitation of the radio station is to “set a largely misinformed public free from the twin evil of tyrannical rule of a cabal of ill-educated and institutionally corrupt men and women and the sponsored sectarian killings directed against Christian Southerners living in Northern Nigeria”.

ONE of the most intractable environmental challenges confronting Nigeria is the oil pollution through incessant spillages arising from oil exploration in the country.

WHEN the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, argues that it is the biggest and most democratic party in Nigeria, that is not easily identifiable with any ethnic group in Nigeria, very few people can argue against that fact.

BOKO HARMA’S latest intrusion into the nation’s narrative– two improvised bombs peremptorily set off in the offices of a media house 150 kilometres apart, within the space of 40 minutes – plumbed new depths.

IT is a well known fact that education contains the essentia ingredients for the advancement of any society (the preservation of lives of members, maintenance of social structure, promotion of social change and development).