The Bayelsa State Government on Tuesday explained that the recent cabinet reshuffle carried out in the state was not as a result of any rift between the state Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, and President Goodluck Jonathan.
The explanation was given by the Chief Press Secretary to Dickson, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, in a statement in Abuja.
Iworiso-Markson pointed out that the attribution of the reshufflement to the rift between the governor and the President was a deliberate propagation of falsehood and the handiwork of mischief makers.
According to the statement: “The recent minor cabinet shake up in the state was not as a result of disagreement between Governor Seriake Dickson, President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan.”
The statement explained that having been in the saddle for nearly three years and because this is an election year, the governor decided to inject new blood into the system to bring about the needed changes that will impact more positively on the people of the state.
“In furtherance of his commitment to deliver more robustly on its administration’s restoration agenda, Governor Seriake Dickson has stepped up efforts geared towards re-organizing the machinery of the government,” the statement said.
It noted that this is not the first cabinet shake up under Governor Dickson and this will not be the last as the exercise was intended to ensure a more robust delivery of the dividends of democracy to Bayelsans.
According to the statement: “The reports are clearly the handiwork of mischief makers and politicians, who have failed in their bid to win elections and resorted to propagating falsehood to gain undue relevance as well as cause disaffection between the Bayelsa State Governor and the First family.
“It is, therefore, totally untrue that, the Governor, who led the Bayelsa delegation to attend and honour the first family on the occasion of the traditional marriage of the President’s niece, will now turn round to direct political appointees not to attend the same event.
“Governor Dickson has always maintained a close relationship with the first family, contrary to the unfounded rumours and insinuations being peddled in the media by this group of failed politicians and their collaborators.”