…as Otuaro leads Delta delegation to condole with Dickson over mother’s death 

Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, has stated that “any Ijaw man anywhere can become anything in Bayelsa State.”

He was speaking while receiving a delegation of Delta Ijaw Political Assembly (DIPA) led by the Delta State Deputy Governor, Deacon Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, which paid him a condolence visit over the death of his mother, Mama Goldcoast Dickson, in his homestead, Toru-Orua, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Otuaro who held out Hon. Seriake Dickson as governor not just of Bayelsa State but of the larger Ijaw nation said: “DIPA received with rude shock news of the death of Mama Dickson”, adding: “I pray Almighty God to grant you and the entire family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

Going further, Otuaro said, “the reported last comments of Mama Dickson that she saw angelic beings heralding her to glory obviously described the glorious destination of a life dedicated to service of God and humanity which themselves were attributes for emulation by succeeding generations.”

The Delta State deputy governor told Governor Dickson that DIPA had planned to visit him as “Governor of the Ijaw nation” to discuss the way forward for the Ijaw nation in 2019, before they got news of his mother’s death. Otuaro assured that DIPA would make a formidable a presence at the yet to be announced burial ceremony schedule.

In his reaction, Governor Dickson appreciated DIPA for their thoughtful visit, saying he was proud that people from Delta, the home state of his mother came in their numbers to commiserate with him. He said Delta Ijaw traditional rulers had visited him shortly before DIPA to which he is traditionally a member. He solicited conveyance through DIPA of his appreciation to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa over concern and promise of support in any way to his mother’s burial, explaining that Okowa is “my Governor as I’m also a Deltan by virtue of my mother being a Deltan.”

Agreeing with Otuaro on the appellation as “Governor of the Ijaw nation,” Governor Dickson reiterated his usual description of Bayelsa as “the Jerusalem of the Ijaw nation,” adding: “Any Ijaw man anywhere can become anything in Bayelsa State.”

Lamenting that he did all he could to save the life of his mother who should have lived more than 72years, Governor Dickson said: “We can’t question God and as the Bible admonished, in all things, let us thank God.”

Disclosing that his mother died of cancer, the Bayelsa Governor said a Cancer Centre in his mother’s name will be built from private donations to the Seriake Foundation to fight the scourge of cancer which he quoted reports as saying was more prevalent in the Niger Delta.

By Enaibo Asiayei

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