Diri Mourns Bayelsa Politician’s Death

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State said yesterday in Yenagoa that he received the news of the sudden demise of Pastor Keniebi Okoko with great shock and pain.
The governor, who described the late 42-year-old Okoko as an Ijaw icon, pillar and astute businessman, said Bayelsa, the Ijaw nation and indeed Nigeria had lost a man with great potential whose philanthropism and impact as a young politician would  be greatly missed.
Keniebi, son of former President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and former lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Kimse Okoko, died on Tuesday at a private hospital in Lagos.
The governor  commiserated  with his family, aged parents, the Obunagha community of Gbarain Clan in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
Diri recalled how Okoko was a co-contestant in the September 4, 2019 governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and made an impressive showing.
“As a fellow aspirant in the course of the PDP governorship primary, I got to know him quite well, he said in a statement by his Acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah.
“He always presented himself as a patriotic, intelligent, gentlemanly, courteous and devoted Christian. He was always passionate about the prosperity of our state.