The Abia State Government has held a state burial service in honor of the late, Abia-born, renowned evangelist Rev. Uma Ukpai, who died at the age of 80.
Speaking at the event held at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, on Thursday, Abia State Governor Alex Otti urged people to live good lives so that they would be remembered positively after death.
Otti stated that the late cleric’s life and legacy should challenge others to reflect on how they would be remembered.
“So, the challenge is for all of us. What would people say on a day like this, when it is our turn?” he said.
The governor thanked God for the deceased’s life and stated that the state would honor him in acknowledgment of his services to Abia, Nigeria, and the world.
“Our decision to honor him is in our character of giving honor to whom honor is due,” he added.
Otti also commiserated with the bereaved family and urged them not to grieve without hope.
“I want to thank you, Mummy (Mrs. Ukpai), for allowing us to give honor to whom honor is due.
“And to the family of the bereaved: you can weep, but not like the unbelievers because he knows where he is headed.
“If you weep so much, maybe you are weeping for yourself. But for him, it is clear where he is headed. On that resurrection morning, I have no doubts that our daddy and all those who died in the Lord will wake up. They will resurrect, and we will meet with them again. That is the promise that God gave us,” he said.
Also speaking, Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno, represented by Deputy Governor Senator Akon Eyakenyi, praised Ukpai as a visionary.
Eno, who remarked that the deceased waged a good fight of faith and finished well, encouraged Abians, Akwa Ibomites, and all Nigerians to be hopeful because he led an exemplary life.
Rev. Mosy Madugba, National Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, paid tribute to the dead as a global voice and unifier of gospel preachers, saying that the fellowship honored him by laying its flag on his coffin.
In his sermon, PFN President Bishop Francis Wale Oke emphasized the importance of ethical living, citing the late Ukpai as an example of holiness and dedication to the gospel.
In a vote of appreciation, the deceased’s first son, Chidi Uma, thanked the governor and other dignitaries for their support.
Many dignitaries attended the state burial service, including Bayelsa State Governor Doye Diri and his wife; the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi; deputy governors; the wife of the former governor of Edo State, Bassey Obaseki; members of the National Assembly; members of Abia and other state Houses of Assembly; members of the State Executive Council; the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Senator John Azuta Mbata; and many clerics.
