Dickson mourns Pere Ajuwa, says death painful to Bayelsa, Ijaw nation

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 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 added that even though 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.