Ugwuanyi, exco members hold valedictory session for commissioner

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, yesterday, led members of the state executive council in a solemn valedictory session honouring the late Commissioner for Transport, Mathias Ekweremadu Jnr, who died on February 4, while in active service.

Ugwuanyi, who disclosed how he received the unsettling news of Ekweremadu’s sudden health challenge that ensued when he was attending an official engagement at the House of Assembly, disclosed the swift efforts he (Ugwuanyi) personally made to save his life, including his visit to Niger Foundation Hospital, Enugu, to ensure he received urgent and adequate medical attention.

The governor said: “At the hospital, I beheld Ezeigbo (Ekweremadu) lying motionless amidst tearful supplication to God for his healing by determined Christian brethren, family, friends and staff.

“I sat there in union of prayers for his divine healing. This went on for about two hours before we yielded to the hospital protocol for handling death.

“High-pitched wailing of inconsolable family, brethren, friends and staff rent the air. The reality finally dawned on all of us that Ezeigbo had gone. Anguish overwhelmed me. The rest is history.

“Today and sadly, I pay my respect to a departed apostle of our administration, a patriot, a formidable politician; bold and audacious and an outstanding public servant; former chairman of Aninri Local Government Area, former member/chief whip of our House of Assembly, commissioner for Transport until death, Officer of the Order of the Niger, beloved husband, loving father and most importantly, a devout Christian and Knight of Good Shepherd.”