From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
A former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Bayelsa State, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, at the weekend described late Prof. Lawrence Ekpebu, who died on January 2, 2022 as a successful scholar and respected diplomat.
He said aside his star feat of being the first African graduate of the prestigious Harvard University in the United States, Ekpebu achieved a lot in his lifetime.
Iworiso-Markson, who spoke in Yenagoa, when he visited the widow of the late Ekpebu, said though he died at a ripe age of 90, his passing was shocking, painful and sad.
He said the late professor would forever live in the hearts of all those he mentored in different ways.
Iworiso-Markson recalled that in 2018 while still serving as Commissioner for Information and Orientation; he invited the late Ekpebu to chair one of the days of the week-long inter-ministerial briefing to commemorate the sixth anniversary of former Governor, Seriake Dickson, now a Senator.
“He shared his experience with us then and it was so much of a motivation for me personally and since then we became very close until he passed on”, he said.
The former commissioner said he was always in touch with late Ekpebu and had hinted him last year of plans to put together a rich literature of all his achievements before his unfortunate demise.
He urged the bereaved family to be comforted by the admirable legacies and footprints he left behind.
Iworiso-Markson also thanked the Bayelsa State Government for indicating its intention to give the illustrious Bayelsan a befitting state burial.