Rep. Nkole’s Father Laid To Rest In Abia

• Burial

The remains of late Chief Emmanuel Nkole, the septuagenarian father of Rep. Uko Nkole, were on Saturday laid to rest in his Ozu-Abam country home in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia.

The two-term lawmaker, represents Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency of Abia.

In a homily at a funeral service in honour of the deceased, Most Rev. Nzie Eke, the Prelate and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, admonished Nigerians not to allow the socio-economic challenges in the country to overwhelm them.

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Eke spoke on the topic, “Our citizenship is in heaven and we follow God’s own divine time-table.”

Taking his bible reading from Job 14: 5, he urged the living to learn to follow God’s time-table in their life pursuit.

“People should always put their trust in God and wait for His time. No matter what happens, He would not abandon you.

“You will make mistakes but God will never make mistakes. And that is why we rely so much on Him because He is for us.

“Again, God is never in a hurry. We may think that we want it this way but that may not be the way of God.

“That is why we must wait for His time, trusting that He will answer us.”

In a tribute, the legislator said that the death of his father had created a huge vacuum in his life and that of the entire Nkole’s family.

He said that his father made his mark as an Internal Auditor in Central Bank of Nigeria, where he worked and retired voluntarily as a senior manager in 2005.

He described him as generous and compassionate and a disciplinarian, who trained his children to be upright in character.

“He was somebody that can sacrifice his comfort for the betterment of the rest.

“He is a man that never saw me as a man. He still saw me as his boy child, irrespective of my status in society.

“His sincerity, honesty and straightforwardness earned him utmost regard in society,” Nkole said.

The eldest son of the deceased, Awa, said that he could not stop wondering why his father was born on December 28 and died on December 24.

“Your entry and departure dates on planet earth are so close. It is a mystery and a puzzle that my feeble mind cannot comprehend,” he said.

In a condolence message, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu described Pa Nkole as a community leader, who had made his mark and reproduced himself through his children.

“His death is a lesson to all of us that our turn will come,” Ikpeazu said.

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, represented by the Deputy Whip, Mrs Nkiruka Onyejiocha, described death as a necessary end for all mortals.

Gbajabiamila urged Nkole and his siblings to emulate the qualities that endeared his father to many.

NAN reports that prominent politicians from Abia and beyond, including Chief Theodore Orji, representing Abia Central Senatorial District, and Chief Mao Ohuabunwa, former Senator for Abia North, attended the well-attended ceremony.

Also in attendance were some members of the House of Representatives, including Tajudeen Obasa, Darlington Nwokocha, Benjamin Mzondu, Dum Dekor and Solomon Adaelu, together with top federal and state government functionaries.