Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, broke silence on the passing of his father, Pa Emmanuel Abiodun, describing his demise as “painful and a great loss to him and his family.”
Abiodun, who spoke when he received Remo traditional rulers, members of Ijebu-Remo Unity Forum, Labour union leaders, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) leadership, and other prominent personalities during a condolence visit to his family house in Iperu-Remo, said his late father urged him to respect the civil servants, pay pensioners regularly and treat teachers well.
The governor further noted that his late father was a humble man who lived for his family and community.
He said he was completely broken when he received the news of the death of his father, stressing: “My father lived for his family and community. We are a well-knitted family. I have always feared a day like this. My father was a humble man.
“I am greatly pained by his death, but slowly coming to terms with the fact that he is no more. He had a humble beginning, but a glorious end,” he said.
Abiodun, however, urged the people of the state to live a humble life and serve humanity, virtues, which he said, would leave a lasting legacy on the mind of the people after their demise.
Earlier in his remarks, Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, said that the late Pa Abiodun was an astute administrator and a great teacher who impacted positive values in the lives of younger ones.
He said the passing of the governor’s father must not be signposted with mourning, but an expression of joy for a life well spent, adding that “even at a very old age, his faculty was still intact”.
Also, an elder, Daudu Teslim, who spoke on behalf of Ijebu-Remo Unity Forum, maintained that the late Pa Abiodun was meticulous in his deeds.