Press Release from Bayelsa state government house
Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has described the
untimely passage of Chief Pere Ajuwa as sad, shocking and a monumental
loss to the Government and people of Bayelsa State.
Dickson, in a condolence message to the bereaved family, also
described the death of Chief Ajuwa as a great and painful loss to the
Ijaw Nation and the political landscape of Nigeria.
He recalls Chief Ajuwa’s forays into politics, which saw him contest
for the governorship of the old Rivers State and later for the
presidency, making him one of the very few minorities of the Ijaw
stock to run for the highest office in the land.
According to him, the efforts of the late Egbesu of Egbesubiri greatly
inspired the younger generation of Ijaw politician and gave a greater
insight and meaning to why we should legitimately fight for what
rightly belonged to us, without resorting to violence.
The Bayelsa State Governor also recalled how Chief Pere Ajuwa
supported every genuine effort of the Ijaw people to be properly
recognized and be accorded their pride of place politically,
economically, and in other areas of human endavour by using his
personal resources to fight for the political and economic
emancipation of the minorities of the South-South, especially his
tribesmen and women, who had suffered years of neglect and
deprivation.
The Governor’s statement which was released by Chief Press Secretary
Daniel Iworiso Markson added that, even though Chief Ajuwa is dead,
his worthy legacies and strides as an Ijaw patriot and a fighter for
the rights of the minorities of this country would live long after
him.
Governor Dickson prayed for the peaceful repose of his soul and for
God Almighty to grant the family he has left behind, the strength,
courage and fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.