An Elder Statesman and a Second Republic Senator Amatari Zuofa has been reported dead, at the age of 95.  Senator Zuofa who represented what is today Bayelsa State, has had a distinguished career as an economist and a technocrat.
        He was the first Executive Secretary and later Chairman of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), following the Willinks Commission’s Report in the pre-Independent Nigeria, where he pioneered the call for Resource Control and overall development of the Niger Delta Region.  He later rose to become Permanent Secretary in Rivers State.
        He was a leading figure in the advocacy for the creation of Bayelsa State and in retirement he was involved in community service in Kaiama,  Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
        Detailed burial arrangement would be announced by his family at a later date.