About four days after the death of the Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo’s death, another Nigerian elder statesman, a Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) foremost leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, has passed away.
He died on Monday, 17th February 2025, at the age of 97.
The former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South leader’s death was confirmed in a statement by a representative of the family, Prof. C. C. Clark, on Tuesday.
The statement reads: “The Clark-Fuludu Bekederemo family of Kiagbodo Town, Delta State, wishes to announce the passing of Chief (Dr.) Sen. Edwin Kiagbodo Clark OFR, CON on Monday, 17th February 2025.
“The family appreciates your prayers at this time. Other details will be announced later by the family.”
Chief Clark’s death is coming on the heels of the passing of Afenifere leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, who died at the age of 96 just a few days ago.
The duo of Chiefs Adebanjo and Clark attended the Greater Nigeria Conference (GNC), which was held in Abuja in 2022, to deliberate on the emergence of the next Nigerian president from the Southeast.
The GNC was a pan-Nigeria dialogue organised by a global Igbo think tank, Nzuko Umunna, to canvass support for a presidential candidate from the region during the 2023 general elections.
A towering figure in Nigerian politics and a relentless advocate for the rights of the Niger Delta people, Clark was a lawyer, administrator, nationalist, and freedom fighter.
He served as Commissioner for Education in the Mid-Western Region from 1968 to 1971, and later as Commissioner for Finance and Establishment in the defunct Bendel State between 1972 and 1975.
Chief Clark was appointed as the Federal Commissioner for Information in 1975 and subsequently became a Senator from 1979 to 1983.
These two nonagenarians of Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Edwin Clark died so close in time, and one after the other as if they planned it. They will be greatly missed.