A Bayelsa West Social Cultural group, Bayelsa WestCongress have commended the former Governor of Bayelsa State and Senator Representing Bayelsa West, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson for working hand in hand with Governor Douye Diri and other Bayelsa leaders over the state’s oil wells.

The group condemned statements made against the Senator over the administration of the state’s oil wells. Most especially, false claims made by one Ikuli that the senator has a stake in the state’s oil wells.

The group said

“Senator Dickson does not own an Oil License and has never applied for an oil operating license. Even if we want to assume he applied for an oil license, is it his long-time political rival Timipre Sylva that will grant him an oil license?”

The group stated that Senator Dickson is not a businessman and has no personal interests in the Bayelsa Oil fields apart from the general interest of Bayelsa State. As a matter of fact, the group said, when one of the oil wells Atala OML was shut down last year, it was Senator Dickson who called Timipre Sylva on phone for the first time in a long time to complain about why an oil field belonging to Bayelsa State was cancelled and the petroleum minister for state clarified to Senator Dickson that it was not just Atala OML but all non-producing Oil fields owned by other governments. This was publicly revealed in a statement by Senator Dickson.

The group noted that someone with an interest in the Oil wells will not act in that manner, instead the person would seek to take advantage of the situation.

The group noted that Senator Dickson in a statement revealed that Governor Diri had reached out to him for his counsel on the matter as he had already brought it up with the President and the Petroleum Minister. Senator Dickson then accompanied Governor Diri to discuss the matter with President Buhari

The Group further asked Bayelsans to ignore Wisdom Ikuli who they described as a serial blackmailer and liar.

“Bayelsans are already used to Wisdom Ikuli’s regular lies and lack of wisdom. It is yet another futile attempt by Ikuli and his paymasters to drag Senator Dickson into their lies and blackmail”

“Bayelsans know that it is Ikuli’s paymasters who cancelled the Atala OML and gave the contract to their friends and business associates and not Senator Dickson who doesn’t have the power to do so”

The group further added that it is Senator Dickson who upheld the interests of the state and the Ijaw nation as Governor and has continued to do so as Senator.

“As Governor, Senator Dickson fought to win the Oluasiri/Nembe/Soku oil well cases at the Supreme Court against the Rivers State government in 2013 led by then Gov. Rotimi Amaechi; what Ikuli’s masters couldn’t accomplish. Up until Senator Dickson left office as Governor, Bayelsa was collecting the derivation’s funds from the Oluasiri/Nembe/Soku oil well.”

The group added that They know for a fact that Rivers State is currently receiving the derivation funds of that oil well based on what Governor Nyesom Wike boasted last week.

“What have Ikuli and his employers done to safeguard the Nembe-Oluasiri fortune that Wike’s Rivers state administration has reclaimed after Senator Dickson fought to get it back?” The group asks.

The group also called on the current administration to speak up and clarify these issues.