Civic Accountability · Nigeria

NGScorecard

Previously in Bayelsa:
Term report
4
Total tracked
3
Kept
0
Partial / mixed
1
Broken
Kept
Partial / mixed
Broken
In progress
Fiscal
Improve fiscal transparency and accountability
Kept
The promise
Promised transparent management of Bayelsa's oil-derivation revenue.
Assessment
Established the Bayelsa Expenditure and Income Transparency Initiative (BEITI), enacting laws to publish state revenue and expenditure data, an unusual step for a Niger Delta oil-producing state at the time.
Security
Address Niger Delta militancy through dialogue and reintegration
Kept
The promise
Promised a state-level response to the Niger Delta militant crisis rather than relying solely on federal security action.
Assessment
Developed a state disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) framework for Bayelsa militants that preceded and helped inform the federal government's national Amnesty Programme, launched in 2009.
Education
Expand tertiary education access in Bayelsa
Kept
The promise
Promised to bring more tertiary institutions to Bayelsa State.
Assessment
Attracted a Nigerian Law School campus to Yenagoa, funding its construction, and secured federal establishment of Federal University Otuoke and Federal Polytechnic Ekowe during his tenure.
Governance
Secure a legally sound electoral mandate
Broken
The promise
Implicit in contesting for office: hold a mandate that would withstand legal challenge.
Assessment
His initial 2007 election was upheld by the state tribunal but nullified by the Court of Appeal in April 2008 on a technical INEC filing failure; he was returned to office after comfortably winning the resulting rerun in May 2008, before his tenure was ultimately cut short by the Supreme Court in January 2012.