Douye Diri, the governor of Bayelsa State, has ordered an autopsy to ascertain the cause of death of Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the deputy governor of the state.
On Saturday, the governor issued the order while entertaining former President Goodluck Jonathan at Yenagoa’s Government House.
According to reports, Ewhrudjakpo passed out at his office on Thursday. He was sent to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Yenagoa, where he was declared dead upon arrival.
Diri warned against attempts to politicize the deputy governor’s passing and denounced what he called “a lot of nonsense going on on social media” around the death..
“I want to make an appeal. I have seen people politicise his death. In Ijaw land, there is no enmity in death. Let nobody politicise the death of our dearly beloved deputy governor. If anyone loves him, this is the time to show it,” the governor said.
“I have directed that an autopsy be done to reveal the cause of his death. There is a lot of nonsense going on on social media.
If anybody is issuing any statement to eulogise him, please end at that and mourn him because the state is in a mourning mood. That is why we have declared three working days of mourning, and we expect everyone in the state to do what the former president has done today.
“Let us love one another to the point of death because all of us will answer this call one day.”
Speaking during the visit, Jonathan described the late Ewhrudjakpo as someone he would never forget, saying the deputy governor played an active role in the activities of his foundation.
For me, he was somebody my foundation and I will never forget. He represented the governor in all our programmes,” Jonathan said, adding that Ewhrudjakpo worked harder in the role than he did when he served as deputy governor of the state.
