A former governor of Bayelsa State and senator representing Bayelsa West in the National Assembly, Senator Seriake Dickson, was interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission detectives in Abuja on Tuesday.
Dickson, who presented himself to the EFCC office in Jabi, Abuja, following an invitation, was quizzed for more than six hours over assets declaration, abuse of office and misappropriation of public funds during his eight-year rule of the state between 2012 and 2020.
The lawmaker had faced allegations of corruption from a civil society group, which alleged that buildings, plots, farms, and other assets in his village, Orua, Yenagoa, and two buy-to-let houses in the United Kingdom were not declared in his assets forms.
But reacting to the allegations in a statement titled, ‘My family assets were acquired in 2007 with loans,’ the ex-governor claimed his family investments under Seriake Dickson Trust Incorporated, were made between 1996 and 2012 before he became governor.
According to him, the investments were funded by loans and advances and repaid from salaries, allowances, savings and others.
He noted that one of them still remained on mortgage, adding that he had provided the documents to the EFCC.
He stated, “These investments were declared in my assets declaration form at the House of Reps in 2011; my governorship form in 2012, 2016, 2020 after I left office and the Senate Assets declaration form this year.
“However, for the avoidance of doubts, let me state that my family investments, Seriake Dickson Trust Incorporated were made between 1996 and 2012 before I became Governor.”
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