Bayelsa is in shock. Deputy Governor Senator Lawrence Oborawharievwo Ewhrudjakpo, 60, collapsed in his Yenagoa office on December 11, 2025, and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the Federal Medical Centre.
His passing has rattled the state. For decades, Ewhrudjakpo was not just a public official, he was a political powerhouse, a strategist, and a stabilising force whose influence cut across communities, institutions, and party lines.
Born on September 5, 1965, in Ofoni, Sagbama, into the family of Chief and Mrs. Awhowho Ewhrudjakpo, he built his life from disciplined beginnings.
He attended Ebikimiye Primary School, Kpakiama, finishing in 1976, before moving to Government College Bomadi in 1982 and completing his secondary education at Community Secondary School, Ofoni, where he earned his WASC in 1987.
Driven by ambition, he pursued a Diploma in Community Health at the Rivers State College of Health Science and Technology from 1989 to 1991.
He continued at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, earning a B.Sc. in Secretarial Administration, followed by two MBAs, one in 1998 and a management-focused MBA in 2000.
In 2002, he shifted into law, studying at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology until 2007, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2009.
His academic journey peaked in 2023 when he earned a Ph.D. in Human Rights and Labour Law, cementing his reputation as one of Bayelsa’s most academically accomplished public figures.
Before politics, Ewhrudjakpo built a diverse career, including serving as Principal Partner at GoldMark Chambers and holding top positions in the National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria, where he climbed to Secretary General and later Executive Secretary.
His political rise accelerated in October 2018, when he clinched the PDP ticket for the Bayelsa West senatorial seat. He won the election in February 2019, securing over 49,000 votes.
Though the APC won the 2019 Bayelsa governorship election, a Supreme Court ruling in February 2020 nullified that victory, clearing the path for Douye Diri and Ewhrudjakpo to be sworn in as Governor and Deputy Governor.
As Deputy Governor, Ewhrudjakpo became one of the administration’s key troubleshooters. He helped settle deep-rooted inter- and intra-communal disputes, stabilised volatile riverine communities, and played a central role in protecting critical oil infrastructure across the creeks.
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He had earlier served eight years as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, overseeing significant projects, including the Bayelsa International Airport, which he pushed through despite recession-era funding constraints.
His influence extended beyond Bayelsa. Ewhrudjakpo chaired the Nigerian International Coastal Border Platform, a strategic body uniting Lagos, Delta, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ondo, and Bayelsa to harmonise maritime laws and strengthen enforcement against piracy through the SPOMO Act.
His journey was not without turbulence. He faced questions over certificate authenticity and legal petitions, including a court-ordered DSS investigation. Yet he confronted each challenge head-on, emerging with his political standing intact, a testament to his resilience and mastery of political survival.
Away from governance, he was a dedicated family man, married to Beatrice Ewhrudjakpo, and a mentor to young leaders who saw him as accessible, bluntly honest, and quietly generous.
Bayelsa mourns a titan, an administrator, negotiator, intellectual, and political stabiliser whose footprints stretch from classrooms to courtrooms, from community settlements to national policy tables.
Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo lived a life powered by ambition, service, and an unshakable belief in public duty. His legacy endures, even as the state grapples with the sudden loss of a man whose presence shaped an era.