NUJ Bayelsa demands monument and street to be named after the late deputy governor

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council, has urged the Bayelsa State Government to immortalize the late Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Oborawharievwo Ewhrudjakpo, by naming a monument and a street after him.

This resolution was contained in a communique issued at the end of an expanded State Executive Council (SEC) meeting held at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre in Yenagoa.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo, who served as Deputy Governor under Governor Douye Diri since 2020, died on December 11, 2025, at the age of 60 after collapsing in his office at the Government House and was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.

The SEC meeting drew wide participation from the NUJ State Working Committee, former chairmen and secretaries of the council, chapel chairmen and secretaries, as well as former leaders of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) and Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

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In the communique signed by Imgbi Gbalipre Stanley, Secretary of the NUJ Bayelsa State Council and Chairman of the Communique Drafting Committee, and Alambo Datonye, member of the committee, the council commended the leadership of Comrade Tonye Yemoleigha for introducing a “new paradigm” in the administration of the council.

The SEC urged the leadership to convert all council liabilities into assets and give the secretariat a facelift.

It also called on all members to fulfill their financial obligations and remain up to date in accordance with the NUJ Constitution.

The council appealed to state institutions including security agencies, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), local government councils, corporate organizations, and community leaders ))ll\\to collaborate more closely with the NUJ as journalists perform their constitutional duties.

Additionally, the SEC encouraged the Yemoleigha-led executive to intensify efforts against quackery in the profession.