By John Ovie
The sudden demise of the deputy governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo has opened another moment of critical thinking for the Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri, who alone has the constitutional right to nominate someone to replace a dead, resigned or incapacitated deputy governor.
The deputy governor slumped in government house, Yenagoa on Thursday afternoon and was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Yenagoa where he was later confirmed dead same day.
Since then, the state has been thrown into morning with different individuals, groups, corporate bodies and government officials sending condolences and visiting the immediate bereaved family and the Bayelsa state government.
Miffed by the untimely passing of his deputy whom he often referred to as resourceful and workaholic, governor Douye Diri declared a three-day mourning, starting from last Friday to Tuesday this week, a period all state and national flags should fly at half mast in the state.
The governor also went a step further to direct an autopsy to be conducted on the late deputy governor to be certain of the cause of his death.
Be that as it may, political pundits believe that the death of the deputy governor has created a vacuum in governance which must be filled despite the painful circumstance.
The Nigerian constitution addresses the replacement of a dead Deputy Governor primarily under Section 191, which outlines the process for appointing a new Deputy Governor when the office becomes vacant due to death, resignation, or other reasons, requiring the Governor to nominate a replacement who then needs approval from the State House of Assembly.
This process may take days, weeks or more depending on the response of the state house of assembly towards the person that may be nominated and sent to the legislature.
The governor, who is said to have been engrossed in grief following the unexpected loss of his second in command is now faced with the exigent task of having to nominate a replacement for his deputy as compelled by the constitution of the federal republic on Nigeria to ensure that there is no void in governance.
Where Will The Next Deputy Governor Come From?
Going by the existing political equations in the state, each of the three senatorial districts that define the existence of Bayelsa has is occupying a key political position.
For instance, whereas the governor is from Bayelsa Central senatorial district, the deputy governor, now late, is from Bayelsa West, comprising Sagbama and Ekeremor local government areas while the Speaker of the State House of assembly is from the East senatorial district, comprising Ogbia, Nembe, and Brass council areas.
Based on the foregoing, it is politically impossible for the deputy to emerge from Bayelsa Central where the governor hails from. In the same vein, the deputy cannot come from the East that has the current speaker. Except there has to be an interchange between of the deputy governorship and the speakership positions between the two senatorial districts.
If the above political intrigue is not considered, which we heard the governor is averse to, then the onus lies on the number one man to nominate his new deputy from Bayelsa West senatorial zone where his late deputy hails from, and there lies the big question. Who succeeds Ewhrudjakpo in Bayelsa West?
Late senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo hailed from Ofoni community in Sagbama local government area of the state.
We gathered that the governor has begun wide consultations with critical stakeholders in order to make a nomination for a replacement that will, in a way, lesson the burden of loss and grief on the people of Sagbama constituency one where the late deputy governor came from.
