Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, on Friday, led a high powered delegation of top Ijaw leaders and traditional rulers to condole with the Sultan òf Sokoto and people of the state on the death of former President Shehu Shagari.
Dickson described Shagari as a great statesman and leader who belonged to the generation of leaders that designed a progressive alliance between the North and the South-South, especially the Ijaw nation, which was mutually beneficial to the country.
The governor in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, said Shagari would be remembered for his uncommon capacity for inclusive and responsive governance and the roads and bridges he built in the Niger Delta as President.
Governor Dickson However, the governor said it had become necessary for the productive alliance between the North and the Ijaw, who are indigenous to the six coastal states of Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Ondo to be reworked to sustain its mutual benefits.
He said the alliance should be adjusted and refocused to prevent the neglect of the Niger Delta and the indiscriminate sacking of qualified citizens of the area from their positions.
He stressed that Ijaw people deserved better treatment having made sustained efforts and great sacrifices for the development and stability of the Nigerian Federation.
He said: “We in the Ijaw nation can still point at legacies, left behind by the administration of our late leader and father, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, which are products of this historic, productive alliance.”
In his remarks, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State said All Progressives Congress, APC, lacked the capacity to actualise the nation’s desire for greatness.
He called on the electorate to vote only for leaders with the requisite capacity to govern and the desire to promote the welfare of the people.
He said: “Nigeria must work again, despite the fact that those who are there today probably never understand and share the dynamics of Nigeria of today. They don’t understand and not ready to practice what we call inclusivity in governance.
“As President of Nigeria, I believe you need to bring everybody together and work together as a nation.
“By the grace of God, our party shall return to power in February to restore hope for the country.”
The delegation included HRM King Alfred Diette-Spiff, HRM King Luke, King Uwaba, Former Minister of Aviation, Alabo Tonye Graham Douglas, AVM Larry Koiyan, the President of the Ijaw National Congress, Professor Joseph Ayenka, the Chairman, Bayelsa Council of Elders, Chief Francis Kpakula, Former Director General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Matthew Seiyefa, Former Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Broderick Bozimo, and Former Permanent Secretary Ministry òf Power, Ambassador God knows Igali.
The delegation earlier visited the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, and Shagari family where they were received by received by the eldest son, Alhaji Bala Shagari.
The Sultan while thanking the delegation when he received them in his palace also used the opportunity to is the first to condole with Governor Dickson, on the death of his mother, Ma Goldcoast Dickson.
