BY AHMED AKANBI
Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has mourned former Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, describing his death as shocking and a monumental loss to Nigeria and the Niger Delta.
Uduaghan, 71, died three days to his 72nd birthday.
Akpabio, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his media aide, Jackson Udom, said: “I received with profound shock and disbelief the news of the transition of Dr Uduaghan at the age of 71, just three days to his 72nd birthday.”
Akpabio, who was Akwa Ibom State Governor when Uduaghan governed Delta from 2007 to 2015, described him as a distinguished medical doctor, committed statesman and detribalised leader.
He said Uduaghan’s tenure was significant for infrastructural development, healthcare delivery and human capital development in Delta, and hailed him as a bridge-builder across the Niger Delta and Nigeria.
”His contributions to democracy and national development will be sorely missed,” Akpabio said.
He commiserated with the Uduaghan family, his widow Mrs Roli Uduaghan, children, Delta Government, Itsekiri nation and Niger Delta people.
”On behalf of the 10th Senate, I extend our deepest condolences… May Almighty God grant his gentle soul eternal rest and grant his family and the people of Delta State the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” he added.