Delta State Governor, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has described the late industrialist and boardroom guru, Deacon Gamaliel Oforitsenere Onosode, as a gift to Delta State and Nigeria as a country.

He stated this on Friday when he paid a condolence visit to the Onosode family at their Surulere residence in Lagos.

Okowa, who poured encomiums on the man popularly called Mr Integrity, admonished the widow, Mrs Susan Onosode and other members of the family not to weep for too long but to give thanks and praises to God for giving such a wonderful person to the family, Delta State and the country.

“The event of the passing of our beloved daddy, no doubt is painful, but I would advise that this is not the time to cry but rather a time to give praises and thanks to God for giving us somebody like him. His name will continue to resonate in the mind of all Nigerians as a man of integrity. The Corporate world will continue to remember him and he lived his life to the glory of God. He is a vessel of honour and we are all proud of him. So we thank God for his life and for giving him to us,” Okowa said.

Okowa, in a response to the family’s request for an enabling environment when the events for the funeral rites will begin later in October, assured that the state will not only provide adequate security but also be part of the funeral activities.

Earlier, Okowa had signed the condolence register where he wrote: “Our Daddy, an accomplished technocrat, man of integrity, and a gift to Delta and Nigeria. He was a vessel of honour to us all in Delta State. Adieu, our good father.”

The Governor was accompanied by the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Monday Igbuya; Delta State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Edwin Uzor; Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Barr. John Nani, and the Principal Secretary to the Governor, Hon Hilary Ibegbulem.

•Photo shows Delta State Governor, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa with Mrs Susan Onosode, widow of the late industrialist and technocratic, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode when the Governor paid a condolence visit to the family house in Surulere, Lagos . . . Friday.

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