Chief (Engr.) George Timiyan JP, Delta State chairman of Izon-Ibe Welders and Fitters Association, has expressed deep sadness as the professional body mourns the loss of Ijaw elder statesman and national leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, who passed away in his Abuja residence at the age of 97 on Monday night.

This is contained in a statement released by the state chairman of the professional body of welders and fitters on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

Chief Timiyan, who is the Miyenkeremowei of Gbaramatu Kingdom and the Mein Ibe-Disemowei of Ogulagha Kingdom, noted that while the news of the passing of Pa. Clark came as a shock, the likes of the elder statesman is rare as his leadership transversed ethnicity, religion and even politics.

The statement reads: "The Delta State chapter of the Izon-Ibe Welders and Fitters Association in Nigeria hereby express its deep shock and sadness over the demise of our national leader and elder statesman, Chief Dr. Sen. Edwin Kiagbodo Clark OFR, CON, whose sad loss occured at his Abuja residence on Monday, February 17, 2025.

"Pa Clark, as he is often called, is an exemplary, charismatic and iconic father and leader whose kind is rare. His death at 97, has no doubt created a vacuum in the Ijaw Nation and in the entire Niger Delta region at large as Pa. Clark was not only a leader to the Ijaws but also to other groups in the region and Nigeria at large, and even across ethnicity, religion and political platforms.

"We therefore join other well-meaning sons and daughters of the Ijaw Nation and friends in the Niger Delta and in the country at large to mourn the former Commissioner of Information and a one-time senator whose service to his fatherland was abruptly cut short during the brief President Shehu Shagari administration."

The welders and fitters association also hailed the late Pa. Clark for his versatility and urged his family to draw strength from the many achievements of the national leader as they sustain the legacies that he had left behind him.

"We also salute the convener of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), a platform that amplified the voice of Niger Deltans, particularly the Ijaws, in the quest for justice, equity and fairness in the Nigerian nation. No doubt, even at his old age, Pa. Clark continued to advocate for the betterment and prosperity of not only the Ijaws, but other minority groups in and outside the oil region, such as the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders' Forum (SMBLF).

"In our sad state, just as we gather strength in the fact that the Ijaw national leader lived a fulfilled life that had his footprints in various human endeavours across politics, education, legal, counselling, business, activism, among others, so too we console both his nuclear and extended families and urged them to take solace in Papa's achievements and to maintain his legacies.

"We pray the Almighty God who gifted him to the Ijaw Nation and to Nigeria at large, grant his gentle soul eternal rest in His Bosom. We will surely miss him," Chief Timiyan added.

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