OWERRI – Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has expressed sadness over the passing of Dame Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi, widow of the first military Head of State of Nigeria, the late Gen. Johnson Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Dame Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi, the second First Lady of Nigeria reportedly died in the early hours of Monday, August 23, where she was undergoing treatment at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, aged, 97.
Dame Aguiyi-Ironsi died barely 24 hours after Lady Adanma Okpara, the widow of the Premier of defunct Eastern Nigeria, Dr. M. I. Okpara, reportedly passed on, also in Umuahia on Sunday at the age of 97.
Governor Uzodimma, according to a statement signed by Oguwike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Governor, described both deaths as a big loss to the Igbo in particular and Nigerians in general.
The governor described the deceased as examplary in their lifestyle and pillars of support to their husbands, both in areas of governance and administration.
Governor Uzodimma said though Dame Aguiyi-Ironsi was Frist Lady for only seven months (January to July 1966), her carriage in and out of office spoke volumes about her upbringing as a former student of Holy Rosary Convent School, Okigwe from where she met her husband in 1953 at 16.
The governor said Aguiyi-Ironsi and Okpara’s widows continued to inspire the younger women in politics, governance and administration with their outstanding behaviour, years after they exited office, and that both Matriarchs would be sorely missed by all who came in contact with them.
Governor Uzodimma therefore commiserated with the First Lady of Nigeria, Hajia Aisha Buhari, the First Lady of Abia State, Mrs. Ikpeazu as well as the immediate and extended members of the Aguiyi-Ironsi and Okpara families.
The governor urged them to have solace in the fact that Dame Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi and Lady Adanna Okpara led lives of service to God and mankind and that they lived and died in Christ, leaving behind legacies that would be difficult to forget.
