The death has been announced of Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha,former Nigerian air force officer and former Bayelsa State governor.
Alamieyeseigha was said to have died around 4 Pm at University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, where we was receiving medical attention for aggravated high blood pressure
He was earlier rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital from his residence in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday.
The ex-governor reportedly slipped into a coma at the hospital and had been on life support for two days until his death on Saturday.His remains, according to a source at the UPTH, were later moved to the mortuary in the hospital.
. Born on 16 November, 1952, he was aged 62.
The former governor was impeached in December 2005,paving way for the emergence of his then deputy, Goodluck Jonathan as governor.
After his impeachment, he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and kept in detention until he was was jailed two years for corruption in July 2007.
He was pardoned by his kinsman, former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, amidst intense disapprovals by Nigerians.
He attended the Bishop Dimeari Grammar School, Yenagoa. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy as a Cadet Officer in 1974, then joined the Nigerian Air Force, where he served in the department of Logistics and Supply.
He held various air force positions in Enugu, Markurdi, Kaduna and Ikeja. He retired from the air force in 1992 as a Squadron Leader.
He was the governor of the Niger Delta state from 1999 to 2005 when he was impeached on corruption charges.
The former governor was succeeded by former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was his deputy.
Alamieyeseigha was arrested at London Heathrow Airport in September 2005, on suspicion of money laundering.
He however jumped bail in mysterious circumstances as he surfaced in his village in Bayelsa state barely three months after his arrest. There different versions of his manner of escape from the hands of the British security, the most popular one being that he disguised like a woman to beat the security apparatus of the UK.
During the week, facts emerged that the British Government is seeking Alamieyeseigha’s extradition to London to face money laundering trial he abandoned 10 years ago.
Mr. Itse Sagay (SAN), chairman of Anti-corruption committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari, also confirmed the extradition request, saying Britain was right to do so since he still have charges pending on him in the UK.
Close family sources said Mr. Alamieyeseigha was recently treated in Dubai, after which he
returned to PortHarcourt.
Although there is no medical report on his death yet, it is generally believed that the recent move to repatriate him to the UK for trial is a likely aggravator of his health conditions.
Often referred to as the ‘Governor-General of the Ijaw Nation,’ Alameiyeseigha had a turbulent political past when he was the governor of Bayelsa State.
He was once accused of corruption and allegedly disguised as a woman in London in order to evade arrest over charges of money laundering and was later impeached as a governor.
Alamieyeseigha was a die-hard supporter of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the incumbent Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson.
The United Kingdom had in 2013 requested for his extradition to the country to face trial but Jonathan, did not grant the request. The administration then granted him presidential pardon.
The British government, again, sought the support of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to extradite Alamieyeseigha to London for trial on alleged money laundering.
He was the governor of Bayelsa State from 1999 to 2005.
Alamieyeseigha, died a month to his 63rd birthday. Pardoned by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for his conviction on corrupt practices as Governor of Bayelsa, he was recently thrown into a panic state by the request of the British government for his extradition.
The request by the government of United Kingdom has however been a subject of criticism as Ijaw groups and political leaders had described it as suspicious and a political vendetta by the President Buhari Administration.
Alamieyeseigha had in recent times also been a strong advocate of the second term aspiration of the incumbent Governor of the state, Seriake Dickson.
In his last outing as one of the political leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Alamieyeseigha had been clamouring for the people to vote for the PDP.
He had perceived that the upcoming onslaught of the All Progressives Congress in the state during the forthcoming December 5 governorship poll would not work as the state is solely for the PDP.
The news of the demise of Alamieyeseigha, who until his death was regarded as one of the greatest leaders the state had ever had, hit the residents like a thunderstorm.
In every nook and crany of the state, particularly in Yenagoa, residents, especially of the Ijaw stock, were seen discussing the death in hush tones.
In his reaction, Governor Seriake Dickson described Alamieseigha’s death as a personal loss to him, the government and people of Bayelsa.
He described the deceased political icon as a strong pillar of support to his government, stressing that his demise was a painful and monumental loss to the entire Ijaw nation, which he had always stood firm for in all its ramifications.
Dickson in a statement by his media aide, Daniel Iworiso-Markson said, “The Bayelsa State Government also commiserates with his wife, Margret, his immediate family, the Alamieyeseighas, the entire people of the state. The Ijaw nation has indeed lost a rare gem.”
