By Damilare Adeleye
Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s First Lady, in company with Nana Shettima, wife of the Vice President, has paid a condolence visit to the family of the late former governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, at his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday.
While speaking during the visit, Mrs Tinubu described the late Akeredolu as a great man, stating that Nigeria has lost one of her great men.
She said, “I keep asking when people ask someone, ‘Is somebody alright or is he sick?’ I said, ‘Who is well?’ We all have one ailment or the other, and it is only God that gives us each day to live by.
“He has done his best. He was a great, brave man, loved by my family, loved by my husband, and respected by my husband.
“We can only wish that the legacies he left behind could continue and endure. I wish his wife, his children, grand children and the family that God will comfort them and also ease their pains.
“They should live with the fact that the man has done well. He has done well to people, he will be solidly missed, and we pray that his soul rests in perfect peace.”
She admonished Mrs Betty Akeredolu, widow of the late Ondo State Governor, and the family to take solace in God and trust in him alone at this trying time.
She prayed that God continue to uphold the family.
Responding on behalf of the family, Professor Oluwole Ayodeji Akeredolu, brother to the late governor, said the exit of the governor was a painful one at this time.
He thanked the First Lady and her entourage for the condolence visit, which he described as a great honour.
Her entourage included wives of members of the National Assembly, wives of state governors of Lagos and Ogun, wife of the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Chairman and others.
Recall that Akeredolu died on Wednesday, December 27, at the age of 67 while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer in a German hospital.