The Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, on Thursday April 23, 2015, paid a condolence visit to the family of late environmental and human rights activist, Oronto Douglas’ family in Abuja.
The Governor explained that the reason he hadn’t called on the family earlier was due the elections on April 11 and subsequently rescheduled House of Assembly elections in the state.
Speaking, the governor extolled the virtues of the late Oronto Douglas calling him a dogged fighter, an environmental activist of international repute and a firm believer and notable architect of the Ijaw struggle during his rather brief but eventful sojourn on earth.
In his words; “Oronto lived a life of service and he was very committed and passionate about the issues of the environment. It is sad to note that, he died at the age of 49, but he was accomplished. He lived a fulfilled life and he left a legacy of service to humanity.”
He also prayed that God would grant the bereaved family to bear the loss and noted that the deceased Oronto Douglas was a loss to the not only the family but to Bayelsa and the Nigerian state. He said; “We pray that the family he left behind will have the fortitude to bear this great loss. Bayelsa has lost a great son and indeed, Nigeria as a whole has lost has a lost a very good man given his outstanding contributions to the development of this country.”
Among the Governor’s entourage were the acting chairman of the People’s Democratic Party in the state, Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, senators-elect, Ben Murray Bruce, Evangelist Foster Ogola and other senior stakeholders of the state.
