Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra has condoled with the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, over the death of her mother, Mrs Winnie Uzoh-Ebeze.
Soludo condoled the minister after the funeral service of the late Uzoh-Ebeze on Friday at Dr Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka on Friday. Uzoh-Ebeze died at the age of 87 years.
The governor told the family to bear the loss with fortitude, saying that the deceased left a good legacy. “Mourn the death of Mama with hope, looking back to see her wonderful legacies, because it is not easy to be a minister’s mother.
“It is a painful coincidence that your late mother was buried on a day (Oct. 6), that was supposed to be her 87th birthday anniversary.
“My own mother was buried while I was just eight years old, but whether one’s mother dies at the age of 150 years or more, the pains of losing one’s parents or close relation are always painful,” Soludo said.
Soludo said the deceased lived a productive and impactful life, saying it was not how long, but how well.
Her remains were laid to rest on Friday at Umudioka village, Awka, amidst eulogies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the funeral service, conducted by the Catholic Community of Umudioka, was attended by the governor and some ministers as well as the Secretary to the Government of Ebonyi State, among others.
Responding, the Minister said her mother was a very brilliant and hard-working person.
She also said that she was a disciplinarian who stood for the defenceless and loved the people who were honest in the pursuit of their future.
According to her, the deceased understood and spoke the different Nigerian languages and used the advantage to advance her socio-cultural and economic interactions which helped the family.
Kennedy-Ohanenye said she would try to live out the good ideals of her late mother as a way to immortalise her.
In a tribute, the Minister of Works, David Umuahi, described the deceased as a perfect and exemplary embodiment of a distinctive personality.
On his part, Prof. Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, told the Uzoh-Ebeze family to bear the loss with fortitude as the deceased lived a productive life.
The deceased is survived by nine children, with the Minister of Women Affairs as her last child. Reports say she was a distributor of the Golden Penny flour and Semovita in Eastern Nigeria, and a distributor of Vitafoam in Eastern Nigeria, among others.
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
