{"id":151256,"date":"2025-02-18T15:01:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T14:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark"},"modified":"2025-02-20T22:31:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T21:31:49","slug":"middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark","title":{"rendered":"Middle belt forum mourns Edwin Clark"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has expressed sadnss over the passing of Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, a revered nationalist, elder statesman, and leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF).<\/p>\n<p>A statement issued by its National spokesman, Luka Binniyat,said the demise of Chief Clark marks the end of an era for Nigeria\u2019s struggle for equity, justice, and true federalism.<\/p>\n<p>The President of MBF, Dr Bitrus Pogu, expressed profound sorrow, emphasizing Chief Clark\u2019s unwavering commitment to the progress and well-being of the Middle Belt.<\/p>\n<p>Pogu noted, \u201cChief Edwin Clark was deeply invested in the welfare of the Middle Belt region. He stood by us in our most challenging times and made several interventions to champion our cause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe dedicated his entire life to serving Nigeria, advocating tirelessly for justice, peace, and the protection of marginalized ethnic groups that have historically faced domination and suppression within the Nigerian state. His commitment to fairness and national unity was unparalleled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pogu said the Middle Belt mourns the loss of an irreplaceable leader, who served as a pivotal rallying point for those advocating for an inclusive Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis voice resonated beyond the South-South region, as he fought alongside other regional leaders to uphold the rights of all Nigerians, particularly those in the Middle Belt and Southern regions,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that Chief Clark\u2019s passing is even more heartbreaking as it comes less than a week after the demise of Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who served as Deputy Leader of the SMBLF.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, \u201cTheir near-simultaneous departures leave a great void in the collective struggle for justice and equity in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe passing of these two distinguished nonagenarians is not only a profound loss to their respective regions but also to the Middle Belt and to the entire nation. Their leadership, wisdom, and relentless pursuit of fairness will be sorely missed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement said as they mourn the monumental loss, they prayed that the Almighty Creator welcomes Pa Edwin Clark with open arms and grants him eternal rest after a lifetime of selfless service to humanity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMay his legacy continue to inspire the fight for a just and equitable Nigeria,\u201d the statement prayed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has expressed sadnss over the passing of Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, a revered nationalist, elder statesman, and leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF). A statement issued by its National spokesman, Luka Binniyat,said the demise of Chief Clark marks the end of an era [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":151255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[1399,254],"class_list":["post-151256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-edwin-clark","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Middle belt forum mourns Edwin Clark - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has expressed sadnss over the passing of Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, a revered nationalist, ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Middle belt forum mourns Edwin Clark\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has expressed sadnss over the passing of Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, a revered nationalist, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-18T14:01:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-20T21:31:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/02\/sm_1739879637.221595.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Middle belt forum mourns Edwin Clark\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-18T14:01:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-20T21:31:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark\"},\"wordCount\":384,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/02\/sm_1739879637.221595.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Edwin Clark\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/middle-belt-forum-mourns-edwin-clark\",\"name\":\"Middle belt forum mourns Edwin Clark - 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