…Obi, Soludo, Umeh, Ekwunife pay tribute
From Emmanuel Uzor, Awka
Family members, political associates, the church and secular leadership, on Friday, gathered at the Umuanuka – Otolo, Nnewi country home of late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah to bid him a final farewell, as his remains were committed to mother earth amid tears and praises.
Ubah, who represented Anambra South Senatorial District at the 9th and 10th Senate, died in a London hospital in the United Kingdom, on July 26, 2024.
Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who described Ubah’s death as the fall of an iroko, consoled the late senator’s family, kinsmen, Anambra State, and the entire Igbo people.
“But the greatest tribute to pay Senator Ubah is not to give him bogus funeral, but to live out the true essence of his life. His family and all of us, who are his associates should do everything we can to continue and accomplish what Senator Ifeanyi Ubah lived for,” Soludo urged.
Also, former governor of Anambra State, and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, said Ubah devoted his life, time and resources to the service of God and humanity.
Obi, who expressed sadness at Ubah’s death at a relatively young age, prayed God to console his immediate family, and the entire Nnewi people.
He said: “Death is what will happen to all of us when we least expect. We, therefore, have the duty to live everyday in the way that pleases God; not ourselves.”
Former National Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), and senator representing Anambra Central, Chief Victor Umeh, described Ubah as a man of the people, who had endeared himself to Anambra people in different ways.
His counterpart of Anambra North Senatorial District, Dr. Tony Nwoye, described the deceased as a kind of sage that comes into existence once in a generation.
Director General of South East Governors’ Forum and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Sen. Uche Ekwunife, noted that the late senator did not serve only Anambra South, but the entire Nigeria and the black race.
Ekwunife, who was a very close ally of Ubah, maintained that the deceased at a very young age, achieved what a 200 year-old man would not achieve in lifetime.
In his homily during a requiem Mass at St. Peter Claver’s Catholic Church, Umuanuka-Otolo, Nnewi, the Bishop of Ekwulobia Diocese, Cardinal Peter Okpaleke, described death as inevitable to mankind. He reminded the faithful that as they gathered to mourn Ubah, they should also reflect on their own time of death, and should therefore, be conscious of the way they lived their lives.
In a vote of thanks on behalf of the Ubah family, Ifeanyi Ubah (Jnr), thanked the guess and other attendees. He urged the church to always pray for the peaceful repose of the senator, and for the consolation of his immediate family.
The funeral attracted friends and family members of Senator Ubah, representatives of Anambra State government, members of the National Assembly, as well as representatives of religious, traditional and traditional institutions, among others.