The burial of former Minister of Information,Prof. Dora Akunyili has been slated for 28 August, the husband of the deceased, Dr Chike Akunyili, has announced.
Akunyili made the announcement on today during a news conference at the family’s country home in Nneogidi village, Agulu in Anaocha local council area of Anambra.
According to him, there will be a wake keep at their Enugu residence on 22 August, while a night of tributes will be held at Sheraton Hotels, Abuja, on 22 August.
“Her body will leave the National Hospital, Abuja, to the family house at Rudolf Close, Maitama, Abuja, on August 26.
“There will be a Church mass at Pro-Cathedral Catholic Church, Abuja, by 10:00 a.m. on Aug. 26, after which the body leaves Abuja for Enugu by 2:30 p.m.
“On August 27, her body arrives Holy Ghost Cathedral, Enugu, for Requiem High Mass by 9:00 a.m. and arrives Awka by 1 p.m. for Anambra State Government’s activities.”
Akunyili added that on 28 August, Dora’s body would leave Agulu to Nanka and to Madonna Catholic Church, Agulu, for requiem mass by 10:30 a.m., while interment would hold at the family’s Agulu country home by 1:30 p.m.
He thanked Nigerians and President Goodluck Jonathan for the concern, love, emotion and moral support to the family.
He described his late wife as “an elephant who loved her country even during her travails.
“Her love for Nigeria was phenomenal and beyond words; even in her last days when she was very ill, she insisted that she would serve the country with her last breath.
“She wanted a home called Nigeria where citizens could live and enjoy.”
The husband, however, disclosed that the former Director-General of National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) did not die of cervical cancer as speculated in national newspapers but died of a rare type of cancer called Endometrian Carcinoma, adding that, “such cancer spreads fast without you knowing”.
“We were told that people with such condition will only live for seven months, but with prayers, she survived it for two years and two months until she became ill again.
“Although she is dead, I know her spirit hovers around because since her death, everything had been easy and working for me mysteriously.”
