The Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Emomotimi Dennis Guwor, has expressed his condolences on the transition to eternal life of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, mother of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), at the age of 96.
Reacting to the passing of the former Queen of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom, Rt. Hon. Guwor, who is the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, described the late Prof. Okonjo as a distinguished matriarch who shaped destinies.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Nkem Nwaeke, the Speaker said the nonagenarian’s demise remains a painful loss not only to the Okonjo family and Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom, but to Delta State and Nigeria at large.
He noted that the late matriarch was not just the mother of a global icon, but an accomplished academic, a revered traditional queen, a community builder and a mother to many whose life was defined by service, intellect and unwavering faith in God.
“As a professor, she moulded destinies; as a queen, she served with dignity; and as a mother, she raised children who have become pride to Delta, Nigeria and Africa on the global stage,” Guwor said.
The Conference of Speakers Chairman added that it was fulfilling that Prof. Okonjo lived long enough to witness the global accomplishments of her daughter and the crowning of her son as a king, describing it as the ultimate joy of every virtuous mother.
Guwor, on behalf of colleague Speakers of the 36 State Houses of Assembly across the federation and the Delta State House of Assembly, condoled with Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, the entire Okonjo family, the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and the people of Aniocha South over the great loss.
The Chairman prayed Almighty God to grant her gentle soul eternal rest and to grant the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and the grace to preserve her worthy legacies.
Prof. Kamene Okonjo is the mother of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo II.
She was the wife of the late Obi Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo, the immediate past traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, a marriage that lasted for 66 years.
