The Anglican Church has urged the Governor of Bayelsa State, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, to be resolute in his resolve to transform Bayelsa State and not to be deterred by the death of his mother, Mrs. GoldCoast Dickson.

The Anglican Bishop of Niger Delta West, Most Rev. Emmanuel Oko-Jaja, commended Governor Dickson for exploiting state resources to develop Bayelsa State.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, stated that the Clergyman made the comment while leading members of the Niger Delta West Anglican Diocese on a condolence visit to the Toru Orua country home of the governor to condole him on the death of his mother on Monday.

He stressed that the church was aware of the exemplary leadership and efforts of the governor in developing state and urged the governor to be strong in order not to be discouraged by the painful loss of his mother to cancer.

The Clergyman said that the church had taken a decision to support and pray for the governor because of the developmental exploits of his administration.

Oko-Jaja commended the Dickson family for the decision to establish a Cancer Awareness Centre in honour of the late Mrs. GoldCoast Dickson, to render humanitarian assistance to those who might suffer cancer-related medical challenges in the future.

He promised that the Anglican Church would be ready to partner with the Dickson family on the planned Cancer Centre.

He said: “We are here for two things all combined into one. First, is to condole with you and the family. The death was a shock because I didn’t know the details. More shocking was her age. As a church, we commend you for all your efforts to prevent the death.

“I am aware that you have decided to have a cancer foundation in honour of our late mother to help others who might have similar challenges. This is quite commendable. We will partner with you in prayers and alert our church of this development.

“The second is to pray with you as a family. The family requires strength and the grace of God at the critical period. We are ready to support you, realising all that God has used you to do in our state.

“The issue of age is not the problem; the major thing was how well she lived. We are here to encourage you not to be deterred by this death but to continue with your good work.”

In his remarks, Governor Dickson called on the church in Nigeria to give the requisite support especially in the area of quality time and skills to the proposed centre when it became operational.

“The churches are critical partners. You have a lot of talents that we can draw from. A number of your people are medical personnel, you know them, the church understands the lives of sacrifices and service.

“Cancer is killing so many people, the way to go is early diagnosis and treatment. We want good people to own it, and we will get a board of trustees to run it,” he said

•Photo by Michael Owi shows Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (R), being condoled by the Bishop of the Niger-Delta West Diocese, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Oko-jaja, during a condolence visit by a delegation of the Church to the Governor, over the demise of his mother, Ma Goldcoast Dickson, at Toru-Orua.

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