Anenih, Ejionueme, others mourn Dora Akunyili

By The Citizen

The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih has expressed grief over the death of former Director General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Information Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili, whom he said died serving her nation and mankind.  Anenih, in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja condoled with Akunyili's family, the people of Anambra State and the Federal Government on the tragic loss and described the late Akunyili as 'a rare gem, an amazon, a unique political breed, an incorruptible character and a woman of immense integrity.'

The statement reads in part: 'I received with shock and disbelief the news of the tragic and untimely death of our dear daughter, Professor Dora Akunyili, in an Indian Hospital.  Her death came to me as a surprise because the feedback I received a few days after she was flown out of Nigeria was that of optimism, predicated on an observed marked improvement in her health condition.

'My hope that Dora would make it was also based on the love shown by Mr President and Dora's friends whose timely intervention and response saw to her prompt evacuation to India for treatment at a critical time in her battle for life,' he said.

He also described Akunyili's death as a great loss to the nation and the African continent, praying that God would grant her gentle soul perfect peace.