Governor Diri Approves Appointment of Dr. Wisdom Ebiye Sawyer as Bayelsa Head of Civil Service
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has formally approved the appointment of Dr. Wisdom Ebiye Sawyer as the new Head of the Civil Service, PulseNets learnt on Tuesday.
The announcement was conveyed in an official statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, who told PulseNets that Sawyer’s elevation followed the retirement of Barr. (Mrs.) Biobelemoye Charles-Onyema on August 31, 2025.
Dr. Sawyer, who until now was a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, has had a long and distinguished career in the Bayelsa civil service. PulseNets reported that he first joined the service on June 8, 1998, as a Medical Officer.
According to the statement, “the newly appointed Head of Service was born on May 14, 1970, in Odi community, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area. His early education began at Town School, Okrika in Rivers State, which he completed in 1981 before proceeding to Okrika Grammar School where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1986.”
In 1988, Sawyer secured admission into the University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Rivers State, where he studied Medicine and Surgery and graduated in 1996 with the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree. He later obtained a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Lagos in 2000, PulseNets learnt. By 2005, he successfully completed his training at the National Post-Graduate Medical College, Lagos, before advancing further to obtain a Part 2 Fellowship in Public Health at the same institution in 2010.
Officials also told PulseNets that Dr. Sawyer has already defended his dissertation at the faculty level for a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Clinical Sciences and Public Health at the state-owned Niger Delta University.
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The statement further highlighted, “Dr. Sawyer is equally a member of the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), a recognition of his broad expertise in governance, policy formulation and public health.”
With this appointment, Dr. Sawyer becomes the highest-ranking civil servant in Bayelsa State, tasked with steering reforms, strengthening bureaucratic efficiency, and ensuring smooth service delivery across ministries and agencies.
