Former Minister of Information and former Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC)Professor Dora Akunyili has died.
Professor Akuniyili died at the age of 59 after a long battle with cancer
Former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, confirmed the death of Professor Dora Akunyili on behalf of the Akunyili family.
Obi in a statement yesterday said: “On behalf of the Akunyili’s family, I wish to officially confirm the death of Prof. Mrs Dora Akunyili in a Specialist Cancer Hospital in India this morning at 10 am, Nigerian time, after a two-year battle with cancer.
“In spite of her illness, she was unwavering in her belief in a better Nigeria that was while she defied her condition and was part of Anambra State Handover Committee and the National Conference.
“The last time I visited her in India, even when she needed all the prayers herself, she was full of concern for Chibok girls, security and other challenges facing the country and told me that she remained prayerful for the release of those girls and for God to help President Goodluck Jonathan to overcome all the challenges facing the Nation. She therefore urged all Nigerians to remain prayerful and committed to building a better society for our children. We all prayed together and I promised to be visiting her every month.
The former governor further thanked all those who remained fervent in prayers for Professor Akunyili’s recovery and urge them to remain prayerful for the peaceful repose of her soul.”
Akunyili and Obi both belonged to the same party – the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – on which platform she unsuccessfully south to be a senator in 2011. Sunnewsonline.com learnt that Professor Akunyili had slipped into coma in the last few days and doctors finally gave up on her recovery because she was not making progress. She died early Saturday morning a month to her 60th birthday.
