UMUAHIA – Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia State has expressed shock over the death of the immediate past Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mrs. Oluremi Oyo.
Oyo, who retired from NAN in 2013, died at the age 61 in a London Hospital on Wednesday.
In a statement signed by Mr Charles Ajunwa, his Chief Press Secretary, and made available to NAN in Umuahia, Orji described Oyo’s death as ‘’a big loss’’ to the journalism profession in Nigeria.
The governor was said to have received the news of Oyo’s death ‘’with rude shock”.
The statement quoted him as saying that ‘’Nigeria has lost a rare gem whose contributions to national development and in the field of journalism were very outstanding.’’
Orji further stated that the deceased, who was the Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, would always be missed because of her hard work and commitment to duty.
He described Oyo, who was a former President of the Guild of Editors, as a veteran journalist, adding that she would always be remembered for “revolutionalising NAN”.
He expressed regret that Oyo died ‘’at the prime of life, when her services and contributions to nation building were most needed”.
Similarly, the Chairman, Mr Hyacinth Okoli, the Abia Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, described Oyo’s death as ‘’a colossal loss to the journalism profession in Nigeria”.
Okoli said that as Obasanjo’s spokesperson, Oyo helped in no small measure to ensure a smooth, cordial government-media relationship throughout her tenure.
The NUJ chairman also paid special tribute to Oyo for the great transformation she recorded in NAN during her tenure, saying that she brought dignity and pride to the agency and its staff members.
‘’It was during her tenure as MD that every NAN reporter in the federation became computer compliant and the envy of other journalists,’’ Okoli said in a telephone interview with NAN.
Okoli and the governor also condoled with the bereaved family and prayed God to grant Oyo’s soul eternal repose. (NAN)
