…Says, thousands of Ewhrudjakpo’s followers will continue to Support & Stand with the Gov. DIRI’s Led Prosperity Administration.
Now that the Government in collaboration with the Ewhrudjakpo family and the Church has released the official burial programme of the late Deputy Governor Sen. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, and the state gets set to pay final respect to one of her iconic and pragmatic sons, it is only proper that some of us who were fortunate to serve the man as a leader and follow him as a mentor, come out to commend the government especially His Excellency Sen.Douye Diri on how he has handled this sudden death and kept the opportunists from attaching political colorations and ascertainable narratives to the sudden demise of a man loved and respected by almost all well meaning Bayelsans.
With the burial already at hand, I Barr. Ayebakuro Igbeta in good conscience and on behalf of the thousands of Lawrence’s followers and admirers, call on His Excellency, Sen Douye Diri to start in motion the immortalization process of his late long time friend, political ally and once loyal, dedicated and workaholic deputy.
It is agreed that Late Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo served the government and people of Bayelsa State with diligence and with all he had even with his very last breath, moreso he died in active duty to the state, this goes to re-emphasize the man’s commitment to service and the efficiency of the machinery of public service.
It is therefore only proper to keep in living memory, the name of such a man. Ordinarily, if given the chance, because of his professed love for God and the activities of the church, I would have sighed that the State Ecumenical Centre be renamed to immortalize Sen. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, especially given his personal dedication and personal commitment to building that grand temple of worship.
However, the government may consider his prowess in administration and service delivery thus name the ongoing New Nine(9) Story State Secretariat Complex, after Lawrence, other options are the ongoing new Stadium at Igbogene for his commitment to sports development in the state.
The bottom line is that Lawrence has made his mark, left prints and earned his respect, therefore should be remembered for all ages thus, at least one mega project in the state should be named after him in appreciation of his services to Bayelsa.
I call the late Deputy Governor a personal and long time friend of His Excellency the Governor, not because I want to appeal to his conscience but as one of the very closest youths to Sen. Lawrence, during his lifetime, I know how Lawrence considered his principal the Governor of Bayelsa State as an Elder Brother & Leader that must be respected at all times.
On several occasions Lawrence has confided in me in his inner parlor matters some of which may never come public. He had narrated to me, his personal relationship with the governor. I can tell of a particular day when I asked him directly if he intends to contest for the 2027 governorship, and his response was straightforward plain and intriguing, his response was
“Igbeta, Bayelsa state governorship is not you people’s student union, comrade family or IYC business, it is not decided in beer bars and on social media, it is not about street gossips and them say them saying, Bayelsa governorship is decided about 3months before the elections” I also remember that night in his Private Office, Lawrence told me that he does not know what the future holds, and he was rather preoccupied with serving out his current term besides the Governor, but that he is very confident that if he (Lawrence) decides to vie for the Governorship in 2027, his long time friend and principal the Governor, will not work against him but will give him every support that he may require.
Prior to his death, I have served and followed Lawrence for about 14years, and that is why some of us who have served under him and had become full fledged followers of the Lawrence Political School of thoughts, irrespective of what anyone would say, will remain loyal and support the Prosperity Government in our own limited ways, because that is what our late boss and mentor desired and commanded, to be loyal to the government till the very last minute to ensure Diri finish strong.
Sen. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo (may his gentle soul rest in peace) never failed for once and each time we met to reiterate the very strong bond of friendship between himself and Gov. Diri, irrespective of the efforts put in by some to put them asunder, these people may go the extra mile to vilify him before the governor.
I have evidence in chat and text messages where Lawrence has consistently directed that we muster our small support base to work for the governor at all times, and that is why despite what anyone would say or think about the likes of me, we remain loyal and committed to the Diri project.
