The Ogun State Executive Council, on Monday, paid glowing tributes to the matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty, Late Chief Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo, in recognition of the roles she played in nation building.

Led by the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, members of the Council took turns to eulogise Mama Awolowo who passed on at the ripe old age of 99 on September 19, 2015, describing her as an icon of excellence and epitome of womanhood.

The Council members stated this during a meeting of the State Executive Council on Monday, a day after activities leading to the burial of the late Mama Awolowo started in Lagos with a lying in state at her Apapa, Lagos, residence.

While eulogising the late Matriarch, members of the Ogun State Executive Council took turns to speak about how apart from being a pillar of support for her husband, Mama Awolowo maintained and sustained the legacies of the first Premier of the Western region even long after his demise.

Members of the Council said the deceased who made their Ikenne family home a political Mecca of sorts, was a rallying point for all politicians in the country irrespective of religious, ethnic or political differences.

They pointed out that her life was more or less like the textbook of a quintessential wife with various chapters on how to be a good woman, wife and mother respectively.

The Council also noted that the late Chief (Mrs) Awolowo who was visited on a monthly basis by Governor Amosun since he assumed office in 2011, died in the presence of four generations of her offspring.

Members of the Ogun State Executive Council particularly noted the fact that Mama Awolowo retained an outstanding level of mental alertness till death and this enabled her to contribute positively to the betterment of the society.

“Mama was a woman of virtue and humility. She was an icon par excellence, an epitome of womanhood and a source of inspiration to all and sundry.

“The support she gave her husband was a lesson that you can achieve greatness by doing family thing. Apart from being a pillar of support, Mama upheld the legacies of her husband for about 30 years even after his demise.

“Mama’s life is a textbook of a quintessential wife worth recommending to everyone where there are chapters on how to be a good wife, mother and grandmother,” members of the Ogun State Executive Council said while eulogising the late Matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty.

Members of the Ogun State cabinet noted that the best way to remember the late Matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty is to sustain her virtues of selflessness and service to humanity.

They urged that Mama’s final journey home which began on Sunday with a lying-in-state at her Apapa, Lagos residence, followed by another one at her Ibadan residence on Monday, was not a time to mourn but to celebrate her in death.

Mama HID Awolowo would be interred on November 25, 2015, the day she would have marked her 100th birthday.

•Photo shows Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (7th left), his Deputy, Chief (Mrs ) Yetunde Onanuga (5th left), Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa (4th left), Head of Service, Elder Sola Adeyemi (6th right), daughter of the deceased, Rev Omotola Oyeniran (6th left), her younger sister, Amb. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu (7th right), grandson of the deceased, Segun Awolowo (3rd left), and other members of the Awolowo dynasty when the governor received the remains of Late Chief (Mrs) H.I.D Awolowo at Sagamu Interchange, Ogun State on Monday.

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