The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, on Thursday, October 29, revealed details of some of the loans reportedly obtained by Governor Seriake Dickson. The party asked him to account for the N88 billion loans.
The Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO), the campaign outfit of the APC governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva and his running mate, Chief Wilberforce Igiri, said although Dickson claimed to be prudent, he incurred huge debts, The Nation reports.
The organization’s Director of Media and Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba, who spoke Speaking at a news conference at the SICO campaign office in Yenagoa, listed some of the loans allegedly obtained by Dickson as N45 billion for airport project, N25 billion to complete projects and N16 billion (60 million Euros) from Poland for the Maritime Academy at Okpoama.
He said the governor obtained N2.1 billion to pay outstanding salaries of local government workers, alleging that Dickson was planning to obtain more loans at the twilight of his administration.
On the N45 billion loan for the airport project, Egba claimed that Dickson tampered with the original terms of contract for the facility to enable him draw down on the loan to begin his campaign.
“Dickson, who claims to be a frugal man that believes in financial discipline, committed Bayelsa State to N45 billion for the airport project on the condition that the contractor will draw down on the presentation of milestone certificate.
“However, as everybody in Bayelsa knows, not only has the project come to a halt, the site has been overwhelmed by flood. Consequently, there cannot be a millstone certificate to be presented for the contractor to draw from the loan, to enable outgoing Governor Dickson and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), fund their election expenses,” he said.