Seriake Dickson Reacts As Senator Aisha Binani Describes Bayelsa As A Small State

 

There was a mild drama at the Senate, on Tuesday, when Senator Aishatu Ahmed Dahiru Binani (Adamawa Central) referred to Bayelsa as one of the smallest states in Nigeria.

Senator Binani, while advancing argument in support of her bill to establish Federal Medical Centre in Mubi, Adamawa, said the town has a total land mass of 506.4km2 and population of 759,045.

“This together with the population of Mubi North makes it 2,089,540 people (very much higher than Bayelsa State’s eight Local Government Areas, with a population of 1,704,515).

“Nonetheless, this ancient metropolis has suffered from authorities neglect in phrases of federal presence particularly within the area of tertiary healthcare transport,” she said.

But her submission did not go down well with Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa), who argued that the size of Bayelsa — the bodily land mass and the water our bodies — is 3 times bigger than a few states in the united states of america.

He said Binani should make her case with out reference to Bayelsa.

Dickson said, “In my Senatorial Senatorial district, it will take me 4 days to head round. In my neighborhood government, Sagbama, it will take me 3 days to move round.

“I simply felt I have to rise up to enlighten the sponsor of this bill and with the aid of so doing the relaxation of the u . S ..

“When people talk about population, they ought to be cautious, due to the fact if you go deep and ask who performed the census, who proven, what and what are counted, who're the house and the way justifiable.”

Lawan counseled Dickson

Senate President Ahmad Lawan interjected and cautioned Dickson against inputting wrong motives to the debate.

“Apparently, I ought to manual this contribution due to the fact you've got made your factor and, giving our status orders, we shouldn’t impute flawed motives at the submission by means of our colleagues.

“The dialogue isn't at the population of Bayelsa or populace censors performed before, we have to instead deal with the primary focus, that is on the establishment of federal clinical centre.

“I agree that there are many questions people will like to elevate, but I suppose the essence of this debate is to awareness on the general ideas and the deserves of the invoice,” Lawan stated.

But Dickson reiterated his factor that “debates and the submissions in this hallowed chamber should be based on justifiable fact, arguing that Binani stated populace figures which had been now not verifiable.

“I become simplest rising as much as enlighten, with out prejudice to the merits or demerits of the bill, that the basis that she has put forward as a reason or one of the motives why this bill have to be considered is defective. That must be expunged, it have to now not form part of it. That is not factual, it is wrong,” Dickson stated.

Again, Lawan advised Dickson against reducing the talk to reaction to comments.

“I’m positive this is the way you rounded off and let me additionally say that if you have an opportunity like this, what you do is, in case you sense and convince that there's an misguided presentation, you sincerely deliver out the truth, that this is incorrect and this is correct.

“We don’t have to come down and reduce the debate to reaction. You were in the House of Representatives before you became a governor, I’m very positive you're very conversant with our method here. We don’t enter fallacious reasons to debates or contributions or interventions by way of our colleagues,” Lawan instructed Dickson.

The bill become exceeded for 2nd reading after a voice vote.