The Governor of Bayelsa State, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, on Thursday, led a high powered delegation of top Ijaw leaders and traditional rulers to condole with the Sultan of Sokoto and the Government and people of Sokoto 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 who designed a progressive alliance between the North and the South South especially the Ijaw nation which was mutually beneficial in the interest of the country.

The Governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, said that 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.

However, the Governor said that it had become necessary for the productive alliance between the North and the Ijaws who are indigenous to the six coastal states of Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Ondo to be reworked in order to sustain its mutual benefits.

He said that 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 the 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.

“Roads that needed to be built were built, bridges that others did not want to understand the need to build were constructed, appointments that were needed to be made to deserving sons and daughters were made.

“In the old rivers state, we had a Minister of Finance, a Minister of Works in his administration. We had GMD NNPC, we had so many things, everything we needed.

“The Ijaw nation is by this visit reminding the leadership of the North of our historic alliance which has served our nation, our people and the need for us to go back to it, renew it, deepen it, and rework it so that never again do we have a situation, where we have Ijaw sons and daughters thrown out of offices.

“Never again do we have a situation where you have development abandoned in Ijaw nation, in this great country that our people have made great sacrifices to build, a nation that we are making great sacrifices for, never again are we left out where there are key decisions are to be made.”

In his remarks, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state said that the federal-ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) lacked the capacity to actualise the nation’s desire for greatness.

He called on the electorates to vote only for leaders with the requisite capacity to govern and the desire to promote the welfare of the people.

“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 called inclusivity in governance.

“As President of Nigeria, I believe you need to bring everybody together and worked together as a nation.

“By the grace of God, our party shall returns to power in February, 2019 to restore hope for the country,” Tambuwal said.

The delegation included HRM King Alfred Diette-Spiff; HRM King Luke; King Uwaba; former Minister of Aviation, Alabo Tonye Graham Douglas; AVM Larry Koiyan; President of the Ijaw National Congress, Professor Joseph Ayenka; Chairman, Bayelsa Council of Elders, Chief Francis Kpakula; former Director General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Matthew Seiyefa; Ex-Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Broderick Bozimo; and Former Permanent Secretary Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows 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 condole Governor Dickson on the death of his mother, Ma Goldcoast Dickson.

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