By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has ordered the an autopsy to determine the actual cause(s) of the death of his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
The Source reports that the Deputy Governor on Thursday, December 11, slumped while on his way to attend a meeting within his office complex. He was later pronounced dead at the Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa where he was rushed.
Governor Diri who was forced to cut short his foreign trip owing to the unfortunate incident directed an autopsy so as to put to rest what he described as ” a lot of nonsense going on, on the social media.
A section of the social Media has been awash with speculations linking Ewhrudjakpo’s death to some underhand developments.
Most of the reports had tended to point to the disagreement between the late Deputy Governor, Governor Diri and some major stakeholders including the state Lawmaker over Ewhrudjakpo’s refusal to defect to the All Progressive Congress APC.
It will be recalled that Governor Diri, alongside the State Lawmakers and Local Government officials had, last month, joined the ruling party at the centre after resigning their memberships of the Peoples Democratic party PDP.
But, surprisingly, the late Deputy Governor rejected a move to the APC, a development which was strongly believed to have pitched him against his principal, the Governor and the State Legislators, who were rumoured to be in the middle of the process to impeach him before disaster struck.
Not a few are linking Ewhrudjakpo’s death to the undue pressure he was subjected to after the defection of Governor Diri and others.
But the Bayelsa State Governor who gave the directive for the conduct of an autopsy on Saturday, while receiving former President Goodluck Jonathan who was on a sympathy visit at the Government House Yenagoa, condemned the tendency by some people to play politics with the tragic death of his Deputy.
” I want to make an appeal. I have seen people politicize his ( Deputy Governor’s ) death. In Ijaw land, there is no enmity in death.
” Let nobody politicize the death of our dearly beloved Deputy Governor . If anyone loves him, this is the time to show it .
” I have directed that an autopsy be carried out to reveal the cause(s) of his death.There is a lot of nonsense going on, on the social media .
“If anybody is issuing any statement to eulogize him , please end at that, and mourn him because the state is in a mourning mood.
“That is why we have declared three working days of mourning, and we expect everyone in the state to do what the former president has done today.
“Let us love one another to the point of death because all of us will answer this call one day, ” Gov Diri stated.
Although Governor Diri had, in the wake of his defection acknowledged the difficulties in being in an opposing political camp with his Deputy, he had however, insisted on not forcing any other persons to follow in his footsteps.
Rather, he emphasized the importance of continued engagement and dialogue in the process of getting not just late Ewhrudjakpo, but others to see reason with his move to the APC.
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