Alamieyeseigha for burial today, Jonathan, others pay tributes

The remains of a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, will be laid to rest today in his country home in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

On Friday, as a mark of honour for Alamieyeseigha, who was the first civilian governor of Bayelsa State, business and commercial activities were halted in Yenagoa, the state capital, and the university town of Amassoma.

In Yenagoa, shops and businesses, schools and markets were closed down as a mark of respect for the late Ijaw leader.

In Amassoma, business and commercial activities were completely shut down as no commercial motorcyclist and taxi operators were seen on the roads. Schools, markets and other businesses had been closed down since Thursday.

Amassoma is already agog as residents and students of the Niger Delta University are in ecstatic mood to receive the body of their late governor.

Also, on Friday, traffic gridlock was noticed in the town as visitors poured in to pay their last respects to Alamieyeseigha, fondly called the Governor-General of the Ijaw nation.

Prominent Ijaw sons and daughters including former President Goodluck Jonathan, have extolled the virtues of Alamieyeseigha.

Jonathan, in a night of tributes organised by the burial committee of the Bayelsa State Government at the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, on Thursday, said Alamieyeseigha was a man who believed in the oneness of the Ijaw nation. - Punch.