Liyel Imoke, Cross River State governor, has expressed sadness and his heartfelt condolences over the death of his Personal Assistant, Media/Research, Utum Etowa Okoi.
In a condolence letter to the bereaved family, the governor, who described his late aide as “a dedicated officer who devoted every ounce of his energy in the discharge of his duties”, lamented that it was “indeed painful and saddening to lose such a dynamic and hardworking young man to the cold hands of death”.
Imoke nevertheless, urged the Okoi family “to be consoled by the services he (the deceased) rendered to the State and the life he led while he still walked on this side of existence”.
In the same vein, Imoke’s Chief of Staff, Alex Egbona, wrote in to say that, they “are still to come to terms with the stark reality that this young man of intrinsic quality and intelligence has gone the way of all mortals in his prime”. Egbona added that “Utum is over there with smiles, having left this sinful world to unite with the Lord”.
Admist tears and sorrow, the 39 year old Mass Communication major, who died at the Fortis Hospital, Bargabre, India, after an unsuccessful surgery on November 26, 2013, were interred at his family compound in Ugep, Yakurr LGA.
