The family of the late Registrar/Chief Executive of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Godswill Obioma, has debunked reports, especially in the social media, that he was assassinated.
Obioma died on Monday; he was 67.
In a statement yesterday in Minna, the Niger State capital, the family said the NECO Registrar slumped in his room and was discovered by his wife and the driver who took him to the National Hospital in Abuja where he was certified dead.
In a message to NECO’s Director of Human Resource Management, Mustapha Abdul, the son of the late Registrar, Prince Godswill Obioma II, wrote: “Dear Sir, this is to formally inform you that my father, Prof. Godswill Obioma, the Registrar/Chief Executive of NECO, passed to eternal glory yesterday, May 31, 2021, after a brief illness.
“We request that you kindly notify the board, management and the entire workers of the Council of this development. We shall keep you duly informed.”
Acting on the message, Abdul issued a circular, titled: Death of NECO Registrar/Chief Executive.
He wrote: “I am directed to inform all workers of the Council of the death of Prof. Obioma, who, according to family sources, died yesterday (May 31, 2021) after a brief illness.
“While workers are enjoined to remain calm, the Council prays for the peaceful repose of his soul.”
The Niger State Police Command described the assassination rumour as “totally false, untrue and a pure piece of fake news”.
A statement yesterday by its spokesman Wasiu Abiodun, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), reads: “It is important to state categorically that on May 31, 2021, the family of …Prof. Obioma formally announced that he passed to eternal glory after a brief illness at the National Hospital, Abuja.
“Members of the public are hereby urged to disregard the fake news and reporters are advised to always verify their report before publication to avoid creating unnecessary panic and fear in the public domain.”
Also, Governors Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger) and Okezie Ikpeazu yesterday commiserated with the family of the late Obioma.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mrs. Mary Noel-Berje, said: “The Registrar was an experienced and hardworking personality. Our heartfelt sympathy is with the family and the examination body.”
Ikpeazu’s condolence message was signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Onyebuchi Ememanka.
It reads: “It is profoundly depressing for me to write a death tribute to one of our finest academics from Abia State, just barely one year after I had written him a letter of congratulations on his appointment as NECO Registrar.”
