Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has described former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, and late former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, as victims of the Niger Delta struggle.
Dickson, who stated this when Ibori paid him a condolence visit in his office in Yenagoa on Wednesday, said it was a solemn and historic day: “Ibori was serving time in prison in the United Kingdom when Alamieyesigha died.”
Dickson said the late governor “was harassed to his untimely death” as some people felt that with Alamieyeseigha’s support for him during the last governorship election, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would win.
He said the people used propaganda and harried him to death, but stressed that the people of the Niger Delta region would not be intimidated anymore as he would continue to work with people like Ibori and allies across the country to rise for the right causes.
Dickson used the opportunity to “call on our people that we have done enough in sabotaging, in pulling down our leaders,” saying “nobody in this nation will sustain our leaders for us.”
According to Dickson, Alamieyeseigha and Ibori “were rallying our people together and championing the right causes” and commended the latter for finding time to personally write a tribute on the former’s death.
Dickson noted Ibori’s contributions to the development of Ijaw land, especially the bridge to Bomadi in Delta State, described him as a great man and called for greater collaboration among Niger Delta leaders.
“We still have you. You are not just a leader of Delta State, you are one of our leaders,” he said of Ibori, while stating that “we believe that the genuine aspirations of our people will be met.”
Earlier, former governor of Delta State, James Ibori said he was devastated at the death of Alamieyeseigha and that the bond he had with him was both spiritual and deep “because we shared a common passion.”
Ibori, who stated that Alamieyeseigha died for things he believed, saying he was able to overcome a serious crisis in Delta State due to the support and encouragement he got from the late former governor.
He took solace in the fact that what Alamieyeseigha believe in would not die, and that the flag only flew at half mast for a brief period but now flying at full mast, referring to Governor Dickson strides in Bayelsa State.
While thanking the governor for immortalising the late man, Ibori thanked God that he was back again and would continue to liaise with Dickson that together they could keep the flag flying for the people and region.
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