The Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Mr Maxwell Awuse, has commiserated with the Senior Special Assistant, Media to the Governor of Delta State, Comrade Fidelis Egugbo, on the death of his mother, Deaconess Mary Egugbo.
Awuse, who visited Egugbo in his office located within the Deputy Governor’s Complex, Government House, Asaba, urged him and his siblings to take solace in the fact that their mother lived to the Biblical age of 70.
“As Catholics, we are aware that in the book of Psalm, chapter 90 verse 10, God said, ‘As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,’ so, your mother lived to the Biblical age which is enough reason to be consoled and for you to celebrate her life.
“Like St. Paul would say, your mother fought a good fight and she has finished the race on earth and gone to where our Lord, Jesus Christ has gone to prepare for her,” the Permanent Secretary said.
He told Egugbo that naturally, losing a loved one can be very painful but when it has to do with death, there is nothing that anybody can do other than to accept its reality, pray for the repose of the soul of the dead as it is the way for all mortals.
Responding, Egugbo thanked the Governor of the state, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, his Deputy, Sir Monday Onyeme, political appointees, civil servants and numerous others for rallying round him and his relatives since the passage of his mother.
He said, “life is really a mystery, and as Mother Theresa would say, ‘a life not lived for others is not a life;’ my mother lived for others, she put others first before her and it is now that she is gone that we really appreciate what she was doing, otherwise, then, we were always urging her to reduce the act of giving.
“With her passage, the testimonies, the goodwill messages from those that she has impacted on, at times it is laughable when we hear some stories about how she would collect money from us just because she wants to give to the needy, but that is life and now that she is gone, we are even learning more about her life.
“I want to use this opportunity to once again, thank Deltans for making the right choice in Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and Sir Monday Onyeme, our Governor and his Deputy respectively, since the passage of my mother, they have really, shown love to me.
“Our PS, it will interest you to know that the day I saw my mother last was the day that Archbishop Margaret Idahosa celebrated her 80th birthday anniversary; our Deputy Governor was in Benin on that day and yours sincerely accompanied him, but on arrival from Benin, I had to tell him that I was going to visit my mother.
“As an understanding man, he kept checking the time and asked if it was not so late to travel, but the urge was so strong that I told him that I could make it that evening and come back the next day to meet with official functions which he reluctantly approved preferring that I reduce the risk of travelling at night.
“We miss Mama, her daily call to pray for us but we thank God that we knew her and enjoyed her and I thank you most especially, for the show of love, the calls, the visits; though, Mama left Catholic Church for Pentecostal Church, the Grace of God Mission, a lot of Priests including Revd. Fr. John Konyeke and my Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Hilary Ibegbulem, have shown love to me and my family and we are grateful to God for making it possible for us to come across good people, people who can be described as humans in the true sense of humanity.
“As you are already aware, the burial ceremony shall commence on Friday, December 29 with a Service of Songs and internment shall take place on Saturday, December 30, please, continue to remember us in your prayers as we need the support of all to ensure a successful burial ceremony at Ugiliamai, Onicha-Ukwuani, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State.”
