PRESIDENCY IS SOUTH-SOUTH PROPERTY, SAYS ALAMIEYESEIGHA

Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha has declared that the presidency is a bonifade property of the South- South region for now, insisting that President Goodluck Jonathan must be returned as president in next month’s election.
Alamieyeseigha, who spoke at the flag-off of the Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign for the February general elections at Oghara in Ethiope West Local Government Area of the state, maintained that no opposition party would be allowed to occupy the presidency.
“We shall not allow the presidency to be occupied by the opposition. It is our bonafide property in the South-South for now and we will not allow it to slip off,” Alamieyesei¬gha, who is the chairman of the Presidential Contact Committee (South-South), declared.
He explained that his committee was specifically assigned to Edo and Delta states to work with PDP stakeholders to ensure the victory of the party’s can¬didates at all levels of the election.

ANGER IN BAYELSA OVER ALAMEISEGHA SON’S DEATH

There was indignation in Bayelsa State on Monday following the alleged killing of the former Governor Diepreye Alameisegha’s son, Mr. Oyemifa, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate (UAE).
The Nation gathered that Oyemifa, second to the last child in the family and student, was killed in Dubai at the weekend.
His body was said to have been found on a street by the police who searched him and found his identify card.
Using the identification card, the police reportedly traced the home of Oyemifa only to discover that he came from “a big family.”
It was gathered that shortly after knowing the deceased background, the policemen left, but later came back to tell the family members in Alameiseigha’s house in Dubai that Oyemifa committed suicide.
The policemen reportedly based their claims on an autopsy they said was conducted on the body.

ALAMIEYESEIGHA CONFIRMS SON’S DEATH IN DUBAI

A son of Bayelsa State’s former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha has died in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, his father confirmed Monday.
Multiple reports said Oyoms Alamieyeseigha committed suicide in his father’s home in Dubai, while others claimed he was murdered.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Alamieyeseigha confirmed his son’s death, but declined to provide details.Source: Premium Times

LOOMING EARTHQUAKE : WE ‘LL SHUT DOWN OIL PRODUCTION – ALAMIEYEISEGHA

ABUJA – Former governor of Bayelsa State and delegate to the ongoing national conference, Chief Diepreiye Alamieyeisegha on Monday said that the Niger delta communities were planning to shut down oil production in the region to forestall a looming earthquake and other natural disasters.
Alamieyeisegha who spoke on point of information stated that the information he gave was an offshoot of a meeting he had with leaders and elders of the oil producing, weekend.
The former governor who is representing his state said that between the last 58 years and now, a minimum of 1.8 to 2 million barrels of crude oil has been extracted from the Niger delta on daily basis.

WE MUST CONTROL OUR RESOURCES – ALAMIEYESEIGHA

ABUJA — FORMER Governor of Bayelsa State and a delegate at the National Conference, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, has berated those calling for the reduction of the 13 per cent derivation to five per cent, declaring that he would not give up fighting for resource control until the Niger Delta region begins to controls its resources.
He said: “I put on the toga of resource control and I will never waver until we control our resources and determine what we want to do with it and pay appropriate tax to the central government. I, for one, do see peace in this country.
Our environment is destroyed. There is a new trend now that Nigerians do not know; it is the prevalence of cancer among our women. People are dying. The effects of oil exploration are so much and heavy on our people. ”

EXPATRIATES PLAN KIDNAPPING, ILLEGAL BUNKERING -ALAMIEYESEIGHA

A former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyesiegha, on Tuesday accused expatriates of planning their own kidnaps to get money from their oil companies.
Besides, he accused the expatriates of being largely responsible for the stealing of about 50 per cent of the crude oil in Nigeria.
He also said he arrested some suspected oil bunkerers which he handed over to the police but was surprised that they were later released without prosecution during the tenure of former President Olusegun
Obasanjo.
Alamieyeseigha stated these when officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, appeared before National Conference Committee on Public Finance.
He said, “I had one experience. Tankers were loaded in Bayelsa State. I got the information and laid ambush for them and arrested them – about 14 big tankers – and they were handed over to the police.

OBASANJO WAS AUTOCRATIC RULER, SAYS ALIAMIEYESEIGHA

•Says he can’t stop Jonathan in 2015
Former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Aliamieyeseigha, has taken a swipe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, describing him as a mischievous character.
He argued that Obasanjo’s recent controversial letter to Jonathan was laced with bias, hatred and sentiment, stressing that the former President was dressing himself with the robe of ‘Mr.-Know-it-all’.
Aliamieyeseigha was Governor of Bayelsa State from 1999 to 2005 when the state House of Assembly under the speakership of Peremobowei Ebebi impeached him in controversial circumstances believed to have been orchestrated by Obasanjo then as President.
In the said letter Obasanjo accused the President of promoting not only corruption and cronyism but also encouraging dividing the country along religious and tribal lines.
Aliamieyeseigha, who spoke on the controversial letter during a chat with newsmen in Yenagoa at the weekend, insisted that Obasanjo was mischievous in his intent of writing it to the President.

U.S. SEIZES ALAMIEYESEIGHA’S MANSION

The United States of America (USA) has put further dent on the recent pardon granted former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, by seizing a house belonging to him.

A federal judge in the US approved the Justice Department’s forfeiture order against the $700,000 Rockville, Maryland, house.

The forfeiture was executed at the weekend, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It said District Judge Roger W. Titus granted the Justice Department’s motion for default judgment against the property said to belong to Alamieyeseigha.

I WAS PERSECUTED BECAUSE ATIKU CHOSE ME AS RUNNING MATE –ALAMIEYESEIGHA

•Says details contained in coming memoirs

Former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, has attributed his travails over allegations of corruption to the power tussle between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his vice, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar over the 2007 presidency.

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, Alamieyeseigha said he was persecuted by President Obasanjo because of the alleged plan by Atiku Abubakar to nominate him as his running mate during the 2007 presidential election.

WHY FG WON’T EXTRADITE ALAMIEYESEIGHA TO UK – PRESIDENCY

The senior special assistant to the president on public affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, has said that the federal government was not disposed to handing over former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha to the United Kingdom for trial. Okupe spoke in an exclusive interview with Premium Times published yesterday.

The presidential aide also described the spokesperson of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as a ‘liar’ with no vision and very little understanding of what the role of the opposition is supposed to be in a democracy.

PARDON, PART OF MY PLEA BARGAIN, SAYS ALAMIEYESEIGHA

CHIEF Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, former governor of Bayelsa State, has said that the state pardon recently granted him by President Goodluck Jonathan was part the plea bargain between him and the Federal Government, then headed by Umaru Yar’Adua.

In an interview published in the April current edition of the London based NewsAfrica magazine, Chief Alamieyeseigha said his own part was to deliver on peace in the Niger Delta by convincing the militants to accept the Federal Government’s amnesty programme. And this he did. I convinced the militants to accept the FG’s amnesty and I have not stopped ever since. The country owes the peace in the Niger Delta partly to my efforts. Till today, every day, I get one report or the other and I intervene because they all see me as their father, leader and governor general”.

WE WON’T EXTRADITE ALAMIEYESEIGHA –FG

The Federal Government on Friday toldSUNDAY PUNCH that it would  not extradite a former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to the United Kingdom to face money laundering charges.

 While reacting to a statement by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, the FG accused the envoy of challenging the sovereignty of the country.

The President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration stated that it was not willing to extradite Alamieyeseigha because the British government did not go through ‘appropriate channels.’

An highly-placed government official who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter said, “The UK cannot dictate to us. The government is not willing to extradite the former governor because of what they (UK) are saying on the pages of newspapers.”

MORE SECRETS IN EX-BAYELSA GOVERNOR’S PARDON

Worried by hostile reactions from some Nigerians and the United States Government over state pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, among other VIPs, President Goodluck Jonathan has turned to European countries to seek for their understanding over the controversial decision.

Saturday Sun gathered that the meeting, where President Jonathan pleaded with European Union (EU) governments, was held at the Presidential Villa last Monday, with EU ambassadors in Nigeria in attendance.

Reliable sources told Saturday Sun: “The meeting was urgently called by the president to forestall possible negative reactions from EC (European countries), some of who are natural allies of the US on global issues, following the US public condemnations and threats of sanctions against the Nigerian government over the state pardon granted Alamieyeseigha and others.

REAL REASONS ALAMIEYESEIGHA WAS PARDONED •HOW HE REACHED AGREEMENT WITH YAR’ADUA

IT emerged in Abuja on Thursday that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan decided to grant state pardon to former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha for critical political and security reasons.

An official document sighted by the Nigerian Tribune indicated six reasons the government considered Alamieyeseigha’s pardon. According to the document, the government discovered that part of the plea bargain entered into by the former Bayelsa State governor included a presidential pardon, which was to be granted by the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua.

ALAMIEYESIEGHA RESTORED PEACE IN N’DELTA –PRESIDENCY

As opposition the controversial pardon granted to former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyesiegha rages on, the Presidency has come out with a new twist. According to the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi, Alamieyesiegha was granted pardon because he worked to restore peace in the Niger Delta region. He challenged northern leaders to replicate same, especially on the state of insecurity in their region.

Obi made the remarkin Abuja yesterday at the launch of FEWZ Magazine. Obi maintained that Alamieyesiegha had paid for “his sins” and must be forgiven on the basis of his contribution to the current peace in the South South zone of the country. He noted that if northern leaders could replicate the same peaceful moves in their region, the terrorism being unleashed by Boko Haram and other splinter groups would be checkmated.

ALAMIEYESEIGHA: US MAY SHELVE PLANNED OBAMA VISIT

PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s official relationship with President Goodluck Jonathan appears to be in jeopardy, following indications that Obama’s scheduled visit to Nigeria has been suspended over the state pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha.

It was gathered that the visit had already been agreed upon between governments of the United States and Nigeria, but has to be put on hold as a result of domestic pressure over the Boko Haram menace and Alamieyeseigha, whose corruption case has become a model for government officials in showing America’s new determination to fight kleptocracy around the world.

American generals have continued to call for increased pressure against the Boko Haram sect and other terrorist groups in Africa.

PARDON RESTORES ALAMIESEYEGHA’S ‘CORPORAL RIGHTS’ - ABATI

Dr Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, yesterday explained on Channels Television how President Jonathan granted former Bayelsa State Governor Alamieseyeigha state pardon last Tuesday. Excerpts:

“The first thing is that there’s been a lot of ignorance about what has happened. And sophisticated ignorance, but I respect the fact that part of our duties is to continue to explain to people. The first thing to note is what state pardon is not. One, a state pardon does not mean that an individual was not convicted at a particular time. In fact, a state pardon means that you have been convicted for a particular crime, you have been punished, then within the view of the constitution means a forgiveness of what you have done, and an opportunity to give you a chance to be reformed to reintegrate back into society.

2015: ALAMS BROUGHT IN TO COUNTER AMAECHI

. How double-pardon blunder occurred in the Presidency

. Yar’adua, Adisa families deny making requests for pardon

President Goodluck Jonathan granted his former boss, Chief Deprieye Alamieyeseigha, state pardon in desperate attempt to gain advantage over his political opponents in the Niger Delta. But the mess that followed the decision is becoming difficult to clear. 

One week after the Council of State approved state pardon to Chief Deprieye Alamieyeseigha, the Governor-General of Ijaw nation and former Governor of Bayelsa State, tongues are still wagging at the Presidency. While Dr Doyin Okupe, a Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Public Affairs and Dr Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity variously justify the pardon to a man convicted for raping Bayelsa State to the tune of billions of naira, Aso Rock is in disquiet over the historical blunder in the blind move to remove the toga of ex-convict from President Jonathan’s former boss. 

ALAMIEYESEIGHA MAYBE NOMINATED AS MINISTER

• Or take a shot at Senate in 2015

As mixed reactions trail the state pardon granted former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, facts have emerged as to why President Goodluck Jonathan extended clemency to his former boss. The Federal Government had secretly granted Alamieyeseigha state pardon within the week, without making it public. The news eventually leaked, however.

NIGERIA, US FIGHT OVER ALAMS’ PARDON •WE ARE DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED -US •STOP MEDDLING IN OUR AFFAIRS—FG

The United states of America and Nigeria on Friday exchanged very hot words over the pardon of former Bayelsa state governor, Diepreye Alamieyesigha by the federal government.

The US had said it was deeply disappointed over the pardon describing it as a setback in the fight against corruption.

But the Federal Government, reacted summoning the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy, James McAnulty over the statement credited to the spokeswoman of the Embassy, Deb MacLean on the Embassy’s Twitter account stating that US government was deeply disappointed over the pardon granted Alamieyeseigha.