Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, said at the weekend that the recent death of his elder sister, Madam Amaro Roseline Dokubo, has caused him an eternal pain.

Describing his late sister as a mother and friend, Dokubo said on Saturday at a funeral ceremony in Abonnema, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, that until her death, she stood by him through thick and thin.

“Sister Ama, I know you are at peace where you are and there is no need for tears. I know how much tears I shed on the day of your death when I received the phone call that you had passed on. As I stood motionless in my office, consumed with grief, the tears kept rolling, giving me a feeling of emptiness of heart. I realised that a pain has come that will never go away and I must own that you have gone forever,” Dokubo said in a tribute before her body was interred.

While recalling her care and love for her siblings and family members, he said: “For me, your younger brother, you always shared in my joys, sorrows, laughter, tears and successes; an inspiration from my tender age to my adulthood, up to the time you departed. You are gone, but there is a place deep down in my heart where God has placed a love for you. My beloved sister, you will remain there forever.”

Dokubo said he considered himself lucky to have had a loving, caring and supportive sister like Madam Amaro. “I will miss our little talks, our uncommon jokes, your comforting and reassuring voice; your inspirational words of wisdom, guidance and advice,” he said.

Until her death on April 11, in Abuja at the age of 73, Madam Amaro presided over a flourishing business empire with diverse interests and was also a contractor to local and multinational firms as well as MDAs in Rivers State. She was also a respected community and religious leader.

Dignitaries across the country from the private and public sectors, among them politicians, traditional, religious and community leaders, attended her funeral ceremony, which included commendation services at St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Port Harcourt, and St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Abonnema, Rivers State.

In Port Harcourt, the officiating minister for the interment service for Madam Amaro, Rev. Canon Isaac Erekosima noted that it is a joyful moment when a child is born, but an end must come and all humans should prepare for it.

He urged the congregation to do the will of God and always think of eternity to qualify for God’s reward after death. The deceased’s daughter, Rosebella Briggs, described her as a woman of substance.

•Prof Charles Dokubo, Coordinator Presidential Amnesty Programme, greeting the clergy at the burial ceremony of his sister, late Madam Amaro Roseline Dokubo, on Saturday, June 15, 2019 in Port Harcourt

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