Former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, has expressed sadness over the demise of Senator Rose Okoji Oko, describing her as a notable woman of virtue who served his people and the country with great dedication and commitment.
Oko died at a hospital in the United Kingdom where she was receiving treatment for an ailment.
The late Senator was a second-term member of the red chamber of the national assembly representing Cross River North and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment.
In a statement by Ndoma-Egba, he said: “I received with sadness the news of the death of a dear sister Dr (Mrs) Rose Okoji Oko in a London medical facility on 23 March 2020 at the age of 63 years.
“Rose, as was fondly known, has always been a lady of promise right from her days in Holy Child Secondary School (Mount Carmel) Ogoja. She showed early that she was to be announced to the world.
“She was to become the epitome of womanhood; beautiful, intelligent, a wife, a mother and an outstanding public servant, combining the demands of each role seamlessly to create a persona of domesticity and excellence. She demonstrated the remarkable possibilities of womanhood. She was proudly Cross Riverian, hardworking, enterprising and resourceful. Even as a widow she showed strength and resilience.”
Continuing, he said: “Starting her public outing as a lecturer in the University of Calabar after her PhD, she was variously commissioner for Education in Cross River State, Director-General in the Presidency under the Military, Commissioner in the National Refugees commission among many other positions. She went into full-time politics seeking the office of Governor. She, however, found her definition in the House of Representatives before her elevation to the Senate, where she was not only a beauty but a brain. Her contributions on the floor were always deep and illuminating.
“By her death, Cross River State has lost her cut and polished gem, her shining star in the federal firmament. Her life, though relatively short was rich and full. Life is not measured by its years but life in the years. She had lived in all of her years.
“My wife and I join in mourning the demise of this true lady of worth and substance and pray that her children and the family at large be consoled by her life of love, service and sacrifice to family, community, State, Nation and humanity. When our history is written she certainly will have more than a passing mention. May she rest in perfect peace.”
MICHAEL JEGEDE IS A MEDIA PROFESSIONAL BASED ABUJA
