Bayelsa State Governor Senator Douye Diri has described his late deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, as a trusted friend and brother, insisting that their relationship was never defined by hierarchy but by mutual respect and loyalty.
Governor Diri spoke on Friday night while leading a delegation of state legislators and senior government officials to commiserate with Mrs. Beatrice Ewhrudjakpo and the family of the late deputy governor at the Government House in Yenagoa, according to a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah
Expressing shock over Ewhrudjakpo’s sudden death on Thursday, Diri said their bond spanned more than a decade, dating back to their time in the administration of former Governor Seriake Dickson.
“We came a long way from the leadership of the government of my predecessor, Senator Seriake Dickson. We worked together for eight years and now in our own government, we have been together for almost six years,” the governor said
Diri praised his deputy as loyal, dependable and deeply committed to public service, noting that Ewhrudjakpo brought rare dedication to governance.
“You know what it means when you have a deputy governor who works with you loyally. He was dependable, workaholic and very resourceful,” he said
Rejecting any notion that his deputy was treated as a subordinate, the governor stressed the personal nature of their working relationship. “We came together as friends and brothers. Our working relationship was not that of a boss and subordinate but it was that of a brother and friend yet recognising that I was his principal,” Diri added
The governor also highlighted Ewhrudjakpo’s professional versatility, describing him as “a man of many parts” who combined his background as a lawyer with expertise in public health.
He noted that Ewhrudjakpo chaired the state committee on primary healthcare and recalled the irony that Bayelsa received a primary healthcare award in Abuja on the same day his deputy passed on. “God called him when the ovation was loudest,” Diri said, lamenting that they had expected to complete two full terms together in office
Calling the death a profound loss to Bayelsa State, the governor urged the Ewhrudjakpo family and the Ofoni community to submit to the will of God, while taking solace in the late deputy’s achievements in public life. He assured the family of the state government’s support, pledging to take over the education of Ewhrudjakpo’s children “to any level” and to retain his aides within government service
Diri further assured the Ofoni community that their son, who died while in active service, would be accorded a befitting state burial
Responding on behalf of the family, former Commissioner for Education and ex-member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Dr. Oyovwhi Osusu, thanked the governor for standing with the family and community in their moment of grief. He said although the loss had left the family and Ofoni community in deep shock, they accepted it as the will of God and appreciated the government’s support.
