The Nsukka Journalists Forum (NJF), on Thursday, expressed shock over the death of Sen. Okey Ezea, representing the Enugu North Senatorial District of Enugu State.
NJF, in a tribute signed by its Chairman, Mr Benson Ezugwu, stated that the senator’s demise came to the foundation as “the most shocking and saddening news in recent times”.
The group said, “We will remember Senator Ezea as a man who ran a good race for God and his people and the people of the Nsukka Cultural Zone. He was an Nsukka torchbearer. Ezea had, perhaps more than any other of his contemporaries, worked all through his life to uplift the status of the Nsukka person in Nigeria’s sociopolitical and economic spheres.”
NJF said Ezea’s death had left a vacuum that would be difficult to fill in the leadership of the Nsukka nation.
Meanwhile, Hon. Harrison Ogara, representing the Igboeze South Constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly, the late senator’s constituency, has described the deceased as a “beacon of hope”.
Ogara, in his tribute entitled “The profundity of our loss”, described the deceased as “a beacon of hope in terms of the fight for equity, fairness and purposeful leadership”.
Quoting him, “We have lost a man who exuded a high level of selflessness and clarity of purpose in whatever he found his hands to do. His passage no doubt brings us back to the Holy Book, which says, ‘We are all dust and unto dust shall we return.’
“The life of Senator Ezea has truly come to a full final stop, and we wish his soul finds rest in the bosom of the Lord.”
Meanwhile, the constituency office of the late senator was shut on Thursday when our correspondent visited the office.
NewsNGR observed that both the gate and the main entrance of the office were locked. Hitherto, the office used to maintain skeletal services when there were no major activities, it was gathered.
“We are still in shock,” narrates Chinweuba, who runs a business around the office. “The entire Nsukka cultural zone is in shock. The mood has been very low. You don’t expect Senator Ezea’s backroom staff to be here today. They are mourning.”
A resident of the area, Nikolas Eze, said the workers “must be thinking about their next line of action”. He said, “Their master is no more. Apart from the expected sad mood, they will be preoccupied with how they would sustain their families and dependents. It is an anxious moment for them.”
Isaac Eze, who was seen standing by the gate, said the office ought to be opened. “It has happened, and there is nothing to do to salvage the situation now except pray for the repose of his soul. However, I expect the support staff members to open a condolence register. Many people will come to sign to pay their last respects to him. I actually came for that purpose.”
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