Atiku mourns former First Lady, Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi; Lady Adanma Okpara, wife of late Premier of Eastern region

Atiku said in a statement in Abuja on Monday, that even though the news of the deaths of the two women on the same day comes with some surprise and shock, they shared a common story of providing strength to their respective families by being the curators of the legacies their husbands left behind years after they had passed away.

“I received the news of the deaths of these two influential women with mixed feelings. It is usually a saddening moment for me at the news of the demise of anyone at all; even though these ones are at a very ripe old age. Death naturally diminishes humanity and the loss of one’s mother is very painful at any time”, Atiku was quoted as saying.

The Waziri Adamawa noted that the death of the former First Ladies at this period of serious national challenges is also a sad reminder of the lost opportunities of our country’s greatness as represented by the political and development prowess of their late husbands, General J.T Aguiyi-Ironsi and  Dr Michael Okpara and their generation during Nigeria’s First Republic.

He paid tribute to their lives of courage, service and integrity, noting that these were attributes that had been associated with the great development strides of their late husbands.

He expresses his deepest condolences to the Aguiyi-Ironsi family of Ibeku Umuahia and Michael Okapra family of Ohuhu Umuahia; the Federal Government; the people and government of Abia State; the people and governments of the South East states and Nigerians at large.