Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has said the sister states and people of Bayelsa and Rivers were one and the same and inseparable.
Governor Diri stated this during the service of songs in honour of the late Amaopusenibo Godfrey Brown at the St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Thursday
The late Brown, who died at the age of 95, is father-in-law to General Overseer of the Royal House of Grace Church, Apostle David Zilly-Aggrey.
A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, quoted him as saying that both states have come a long way and the people must continue to encourage the brotherliness between them.
He stressed that having existed as one in the old Rivers State, Bayelsa and Rivers must deliberately avoid anything that could destroy or jeopardise the relationship.
While expressing condolences on behalf of the government and people of Bayelsa to the Brown family and the St. Cyprian’s Church, Diri eulogised Pa Brown and noted that although he lived to a ripe age, no one was too old to die.
He said: “For Rivers and Bayelsa, we are so interwoven and intertwined that we are one and the same people that nothing can separate us.
“In terms of marriage, we married from the Brown family of Opobo Kingdom and the Browns also married from Bayelsa. My brother, Apostle Zilly-Aggrey, who we all look up to spiritually, is also married to a Brown. So, I am not only speaking as Governor of Bayelsa State but also as an in-law.
“Let us encourage those things that would keep the brotherliness and friendliness between Bayelsa and Rivers and not the things that discourage, separate and put us asunder.”
Diri later donated a bus to the church in honour of the late Brown.
In a sermon, Rev. Canon Sunday Akuroseokika said the church was celebrating a Christian life in the late Brown, whom he said lived as a father to many and loved everyone who came in contact with him.
Rev. Akuroseokika explained that the secret to peace with God was to discover, accept and appreciate His perfect timing even in death and called on the congregation to realise that the way they live determines where they end in eternity.
In his remarks, Apostle Zilly-Aggrey, on behalf of the Brown family, appreciated Governor Diri and his entourage for honouring their patriarch.
On the governor’s delegation were the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa, Mr. Solomon Agwana, a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Tonye Isenah, among other top government functionaries.
