Political lobbying and consultations intensified in Bayelsa State as attention shifted to who emerges as successor to the late deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
Even before the burial of the late deputy governor, political consultations and lobbying had been ongoing, following his refusal to join his principal, Governor Douye Diri, to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Ewhrudjakpo died on December 11, 2025, at the age of 60, after collapsing in his office in Yenagoa.
He was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, where he was pronounced dead.
Others, however, insisted that zoning and broader representation across the senatorial district should guide the decision, warning against upsetting the existing political balance in the state.
Under the Constitution, Diri has the power to nominate a replacement, subject to confirmation by the state House of Assembly.
Names being mentioned as possible replacements included the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr Peter Akpe, who is from Sagbama Local Government Area; Christopher Ewhrudjakpo, elder brother of the late deputy governor and a retired permanent secretary; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, from Brass Local Government Area; and the Bayelsa State chairman of the APC, Dr Dennis Otiotio, from Nembe (Bassambiri).
Former governor and senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, criticised what he described as intense lobbying for Ewhrudjakpo’s replacement even before his burial, held on January 30.
