Six State Governors yesterday led a galaxy of dignitaries to Obingwa for the burial of the remains of late Deaconnes Bessie Ikpeazu, mother of Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.

In his sermon during the funeral service at Umuobiakwa in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia, President of Seventh Day Adventist Church, Eastern Nigeria Union Conference, Aba, Dr Bassey Udoh, charged Nigerian leaders to touch the lives of the suffering masses since God has appointed them for such a purpose.

Udoh, who spoke on the topic, “My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation”, and took his text from Luke 2:25-30 and 4:18, asserted that every leader should have a mission statement like Jesus Christ.

Jesus, according to the clergyman, declared that his mission was to set the captives free, urging Nigerian leaders to have a manifesto and implement same to better the lives of the masses..

“Wherever God has put you, he did so for you to bring change and to transform lives. Nigerians are suffering. Our leaders have been called to make a difference and to touch the lives of the people,” Udoh said.

He prayed to God to continually raise leaders who know they have been chosen for a purpose which is to end the sufferings of Nigerians.

Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, told the congregation that the pains of losing a mother was too great a load to bear and urged the Ikpeazu family not to cry any longer but to be consoled that their god-fearing mother was resting in the bosom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Also, Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State urged the bereaved family not to cry again, knowing that their mother was not dead.

His Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Udom Emmanuel, equally urged the Ikpeazu family not to mourn, stressing that their consolation should be that their mother lived a selfless life.

Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. Dave Umahi, said they people of his state were mourning with the Ikpeazu family and the entire Abia State because Abia and Ebonyi were one and what affects each affects the other.

Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, noted that meaningful life was not about how much wealth one amassed but about how many lives one touched during his or her lifetime.

He urged all present to work in the consciousness that they would one day be dead and would be judged by God their maker.

“On that day, what would you be remembered for?” he asked rhetorically.

The only daughter of the deceased, Mrs. Edith Ugboaja, a Family Nurse Practitioner in the United States of America, in a funeral oration she read on behalf of the bereaved family, said that their mother was a role model of womanhood.

Mrs. Ugboajah described their mother as a peacemaker, a hardworking mother known for her love for all, honesty, dedication and perseverance in the face of difficulties.

She said they would miss her but were consoled that she lived a god-fearing life.

Governor Ikpeazu thanked the people who came to mourn with them and prayed God to keep those whose parents were still alive and console those who have lost theirs.

Other dignitaries were Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremmadu, wives of Delta and Enugu state governors, Senators Theodore Orji and Enyinnaya Abaribe, Abia Deputy Governor, Ude Okochukwu, and his Anambra counterpart, Nkem Okeke, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Chief Arthur Eze.

Late Deaconness Ikpeazu was born on May 7, 1928 and was married to Mr Ishmael Ikpeazu in December 1961. The union was blessed with three children, among whom is Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, the Abia State Governor.

She worked as a missionary nurse in many localities before retiring in 1994 at the Nigerian Christian Hospital, Onitcha Ngwa, Abia State.

•Photo by Ibeabuchi Abarikwu shows Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia (chief mourner) Prof. Ben Ayade of Cross River and Udom Emnanuel of Akwa Ibom during the funeral service of late Deaconess Bessie Ikpeazu . . . yesterday at Seventh-day Adventist Church, Umuobiakwa, Obingwa LGA, Abia State.

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