FINALLY, ROBCO OPENS UP ON ROMEO BEKEYEI AND 2019 BAYELSA GUBER RACE - Unveils 21-Reason Policy Document to support Choice

FINALLY, ROBCO OPENS UP ON ROMEO BEKEYEI AND 2019 BAYELSA GUBER RACE

- Unveils 21-Reason Policy Document to support Choice

By Our Correspondent

Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at its lavishly-furnished Campaign Headquarters in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State, the leadership and management of the Romeo Bekeyei Campaign Organization (ROBCO), finally opened up on the identity of its candidate in the build-up to the November 2019 Bayelsa Gubernatorial Race.

The well-attended event drew personalities, political stakeholders and associates from every nook and cranny of the oil-rich state.

In a press statement signed by the Interim Spokesperson of the organization, Mr. Godspower Ebitemi, the organization said an intensive consultation process across every strata of the state and the Ijaw Nation in the last five going to six weeks is what prompted it to finally open up on the choice of its candidate for the guber race.

The statement added that it was in the light of the above development that the organization decided to unveil its 21-Reason Policy Document to properly lay bare the process and the facts that galvanized the support and choice of its candidate, Romeo Bekeyei.

Below is the unedited version of the ROBCO Policy Document.

WHAT YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT

Romeo Bekeyei: The Man Bayelsans Can Trust …

He has always been “The Man of the People” of Bayelsa State - especially the youths. And himself being a youth, is admired by many for his relentless affinity for youths and women causes in the state.

1. An indigene of Kolokuma/Opukuma Local Government Area (KOLGA) of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, he was born on 13th May, 1975.

2. He is the sixth of nine children born to Pa Youbokefe Bekeyei and Mrs. Eje Bekeyei from ODI TOWN.

His father was a successful businessman, while his mother is a renowned farmer and Community Women Leader.

3. He attended Mgbela Primary School Odi (1988-1994), Community Secondary School, Zarama, Bayelsa State (1994-2000), attended Annang and Bros Technical School, Port Harcourt where he was awarded a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.

4. At the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, he read for a B.Sc. (Hons) in Educational Foundations (Adult and Community Education Option).

5. He proceeded to the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, for his post-graduate studies, completing in 2016 and was certified and admitted to the degree of M.Sc. in Security and Risk Management,Faculty of Criminology. 

6. His professional career stints cut across: Personal Assistant to the Deputy Director, Finance and Supplies, Niger Delta Development Commission; Coordinator of Youths on Community-Based Organizations (CBO), under the Office of Special Assistant to the Governor Youths of Bayelsa State; Appointed as Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs to the African Representative of World Assembly of Youths; 2013 Appointed as Media and Communications Aide on the Presidential Amnesty Programme, State House, Abuja.

7. He is an Adult and Community Educationist/Developer, Security and Risk Management Expert, Strategic Policy Adviser, Writer, Public Speaker and Seasoned Administrator.

8. An international businessman, philanthropist, politician, and industrialist, with deep interest across diverse sectors of the economy - energy, manufacturing, agriculture, banking and tourism; Robek Industries, his brainchild and one of Nigeria's biggest plastic manufacturing companies, is a huge employer of labour and a trailblazer in the campaign of Made-in-Nigeria products.

9. He is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ROBEK Group of Companies which include Robek Plastics Industries, Robek Oil & Gas Industries, Robek Logistics Services and other businesses which centre on Imports and Exports, Commodity Trading, Real Estate and Heavy Industrial Equipment Leasing.

10. He is a committed Christian and in his usual proactive and patriotic manner, he has assisted numerous humanitarian and philanthropic NGOs, and undeniably touched the lives of countless individuals, especially the indigent, widows, orphans and numerous unemployed youths like The Catholic Widows Association, Karimu - Abuja, The Down Syndrome Association, The Spinal Cord Association in Nigeria and the good people of Kolga and the riverine areas of Bayelsa State to mention but a few.

11. At various times and locations, he has volunteered to serve as an Advocate on Peace and Conflict Resolution, offered Community Development Services to his home state of Bayelsa as well as participated actively in the Amnesty and Peace Building Process in the Niger Delta Region and Nigeria at large.

Bekeyei has no doubt carved a niche for himself in conflict resolution and risk management having played frontline roles of security enhancement and peace building, especially in the West African sub-region.

12. With his thriving businesses, he has engaged women and youths by empowering them with Training and Equipment on various capacities.

13. As a Career Adult and Community Developer, Security and Risk Management Expert, he has been honoured by several national and international organizations; and is a recipient of numerous service and professional excellence awards including but not limited to Security Institute UK; International Association of Chiefs of Police Officers (IACP), USA; Catholic Signis Award, Rome and Garden City Awards, Port Harcourt.

14. Mr. Bekeyei belongs to several professional and civic organizations home and abroad . He is member of the Security Institute UK; the highest security Organization in UK.International Association of Chiefs of Police Officers (IACP), USA; Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and a patron of the Odi Town Union (OTU).

15. A writer and policy analyst, Bekeyei has written numerous critical essays on policy, national and international issues. He is currently working on two of his books: “Bayelsa, I Offer to Serve” and “Here to Make a Difference”. He loves reviewing books and arts as a hobby.

16. Romeo Bekeyei is married to Mrs. Beauty Ibinabo Bekeyei and they are blessed with children.

17. A widely-traveled man who has visited over twenty-seven (27) countries across the world, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and close friends.

18. At different fora, he has spoken widely on policy challenges confronting Nigeria and made various policy recommendations which were adopted by the Federal and State governments.

19. He was an aspirant in the Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Primaries in 2015, where he emerged as first runner-up under the platform of the All Progressives Party (APC).

20. As a recognized stakeholder, upon his return to his political family, he served his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Head of Protocol at the ATIKU/OBI PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja; and campaigned vigorously on the same platform for the Atiku/Obi Presidential ticket in the 2019 General Elections.

21 REASONS WHY ROMEO BEKEYEI SHOULD BE ON THE 2019 RACE TO CREEK HAVEN BAYELSA GOVERNMENT HOUSE

1. Romeo Bekeyei (RB) is the youngest credible leadership alternative for Bayelsa State.  

His aspiration is to be entrusted with the privilege to govern the good people of Bayelsa State come 2020.

As demonstrated in his previous engagements, he has shown passion and commitment to the welfare and well-being of the youths and the citizenry. He has an unprecedented disposition to change the story for “A Greater Bayelsa”.

2. He is prepared and ready to be Governor . He has been ready since 2014. He is one of the few people that will be running for the Bayelsa Governorship with a solid blueprint that addresses every aspect of the Bayelsa Economy. He has the capacity ,ability and the strength; a liberal and detribalized democrat who knows Bayelsa very well and has ties with nearly every group in the Niger Delta region. We believe that he has gathered a wide range of experience/global connection, and since Bayelsa needs an experienced and energetic hand to steer its affair and guide it through stormy weather, he deserves to be given a chance and the opportunity to serve Bayelsa’s/Ijaw Nation worldwide.

3. He is an astute leader, visionary technocrat, good governance and policy expert and a tested public administrator of high integrity, focus, humility and diligence.

RB as a leader, understands the fundamentals of the problems he has to solve and is courageous, visionary and ready to reach out sufficiently to build a credible and most formidable economic team of experts, knowledgeable men and women, concerned and interested citizens and non-citizens to work hard and tirelessly for solutions that will benefit all Bayelsans, Nigerians and indeed Africans and humanity. He has the ability to build a credible team, lead them, listen to them and give them enough leeway to achieve and make meaningful contributions without abdicating his responsibility. He will be accessible to them. From our personal knowledge of RB, he has these qualities.”

4. RB is one of the greatest Bayelsan patriots, a man who rose from a humble Christian background to something, an inspiration cum symbol of hope to millions of Bayelsans youths who will empower women, create social safety programmes for the poor and marginalized Bayelsans; thus not running in the 2019 Bayelsa Governorship Race will mean giving up on the youths of Bayelsa State; a grave sin he can never contemplate.

5. He is a good listener, always ready to lean, easy to approach and humble; cosmopolitan, urbane, exposed and widely-travelled; generous with his wealth and continues to assist the needy with scholarship, loans to start businesses; and above all, he is forgiving, does not habour grudges, is not wasteful, is a courageous and principled fighter of good causes; and believes in merit, hard work, competence and dedication.

6. He is a consummate politician, strategist and mobilizer. The political class is comfortable with him, as he is not rigid in opinion and will avoid executive legislative conflict by interfering regularly with them to resolve all grey areas in their relationship.

7. RB possesses the ‘expertise and exposure’ needed to address the challenges of Bayelsa State, and given the mandate to pilot Bayelsa affairs, he would turn around its fortunes within a short period.

8. RB has the capacity to restart the implementation of the “Greater Bayelsa” template via the Yenagoa Urban Renewal Masterplan and the Bayelsa Development Masterplan, albeit for the benefit of the masses.

9. 50 percent of his cabinet members will be young qualified persons of Ijaw extraction. We have them around the world.

10. He will ensure adequate law enforcement and remedial plans to recover the roads, fix all potholes and maintain inner city roads all year round, aside completing existing road projects initiated and embarked upon by the incumbent Restoration Government.

11. The Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme will be expanded to accommodate more households. There will be free medical care for our children from birth to age six; free healthcare for pregnant women, including both pre-natal and ante-natal care; while our senior citizens will also enjoy free healthcare from sixty-five years onwards.

12. He is passionate about Education and will make it a priority. Budgetary allocation for education will be upped to ensure the renovation of public schools and make them more conducive for learning. Teachers will be trained for capacity enhancement in modern teaching methodology; and there will be an inclusive, equity-based and qualitative cum free education up to JSS3.

Infrastructure and curriculum of the of ICT-related courses at the NDU, and all tertiary institutions in the State would be upgraded, and we will create incubation hubs in Yenagoa for technology startups to flourish while ensuring we introduce coding into our public schools’ curriculum.

To show how much he believes in the Education of the Nigerian child, he has several Nigerian youths on his scholarship/bursary scheme.

13. To maintain security of lives and property, we will recruit additional 5,000 officers into the ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ in addition to the existing ones, while also partnering with telecoms companies to deploy additional 2,000 stand-alone and integrated CCTV Cameras to cover strategic areas of activity state-wide.

14. To open up small business entrepreneurship /opportunities for youths, more funds will be committed to support the operations of small and medium scale enterprises and innovation-driven enterprises; as well as increase access to funding through the State Employment Trust Fund.

The idea is to double the size of Bayelsa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2024; create a minimum of 25,000 jobs annually and lift at least 250,000 people from poverty in the first two years, and resultantly lead to an increase in the internally-generated revenue of the state.

15. He will expand and maintain the linked channels drainage system in the state to effectively prevent flooding, as well as construct flood defenses in vulnerable areas. The Bayelsa Waste Management Authority (BAWMA) will be empowered to effectively drive the elimination of waste accumulation.

16. He will open up the virtually-untapped aquatic and seafood resources in the state and provide incentives for agricultural processing companies by creating a fishing and fish processing hub in every senatorial district and a manufacturing, oil and gas and regional trade hub in Southern Ijaw; a logistics, shipping and maritime hub in Agge, and a professional and financial services hub in Yenagoa.

17. Housing plans would include collaboration with the private sector and also improving the policy of home ownership through Bayelsa Homes and provide ownership options, such as Rent-to-Own-Program (R.O.P).

18. Increase the avenues to showcase our distinct and diverse Ijaw culture and traditions through the establishment of museums and heritage centers; water theme parks for our children and youths by utilizing our prominent natural resources; and make our State a tourism destination in Africa, by developing our waterfronts, providing recreational facilities and encouraging investors to invest more in tourism infrastructure.

19. He will embark upon establishing a 24-hour power supply via a most innovative and simple master plan that would ease the challenges of power in Bayelsa State using the enormous gas reserves, solar energy, build gas turbines in every LGA in Bayelsa State, and fast track the restoration of the Kolo Creek Gas Turbine Station.

20. We hereby give an assurance that our cur candidate will strive to revamp the oil/gas sector; actualize the Bayelsa Industrial Axis through construction of Modular Refineries across the 8 LGAs; ignite the acceleration/construction of the Agge Cargo Deep Sea Port; build models of ICT industries and high-tech electronics/software manufacturing provinces, incentivize Bayelsa Entrepreneurs in the SME clusters, sustain Public Private Partnership to boost Bayelsa State’s economy in the areas of job creation, alleviate poverty, economic development, and give rise to entrepreneurship.

21. We can boldly say that RB will build new and refurbish existing court structures as well as comprehensively computerise Bayelsa State courts for effective and prompt delivery of modern judicial operations in conformity with global best standards. The administration shall also enhance the welfare of judicial officers in the state by providing fully- furnished staff quarters to motivate members of the judicial arm of government as strategic partners in fulfilment of the agenda of enthroning law and order in Bayelsa State.                                                                                                                         .               

CONCLUSION: Importantly, Romeo will assiduously work to promote and guarantee peace, security and unity for all Bayelsans regardless of location, religion, tribe or ethnic affiliation. He will hit the ground running because he knows the problems and what should be done.

Do you think RB deserves to be the Governor of Bayelsa State come February 2020?

Take a deep breathe, and answer honestly...