March 12, (THEWILL)- Preparations to accord the late former Senate President in the Second Republic, Dr. Joseph Wayas, a befitting state burial have intensified.
A body, Who is Who in Cross River North, has picked up the gauntlet and is mobilising its citizens at home and in the diaspora to pull resources together to repatriate the body of the late cerebral politician from a London hospital where it has been since his death on November 30, 2021.
According to verifiable sources, the Northern Cross River group has been engaging stakeholders to get the project through since Dr. Don Kclaimz Enamhe sparked the challenge and convened the platform to end what was becoming an embarrassment.
As at press time, the leadership of Who is Who in Cross River North had reached out to the hospital authorities in London to ascertain the accumulated bills and worked out modalities to pay up and bring the body of the former Senate President home for interment.
Reports also confirm that the late national icon’s family is in the desired mood and exuding vital internal understanding that the body of Northern Cross River is exploring to execute an assignment which should have been a national commitment.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Cross River State, Sen. Prince Bassey Otu, has reportedly waded in, promising that the late former Senate President would be given a befitting state burial.
Governor Otu, who gave the assurance while playing host to the delegation of The Who is Who Forum of Northern Cross River State in Calabar, regretted the delay in the burial of the elder statesman.
The group’s delegation, led by the Burial Committee Chairman and former Chief Judge of Cross River State, Justice Maurice Eneji, had in attendance the convener of the Forum, Sir Dorn Cklaimz Enamhe, and others.
Governor Otu’s statement is coming days after his Deputy, Rt. Hon Peter Odey, stated that the State would take full responsibility for the burial ceremony of the late former Senate President.
It would be recalled that the Cross River State Deputy Governor had assured a delegation of Who Is Who Forum In Northern Cross River State, a sociopolitical pressure group of the famous old Ogoja area comprising Obanliku, Obudu, Bekwarra, Ogoja and Yala local government areas, that the State Government would be fully committed to the burial.
Odey expressed happiness and satisfaction with the Forum and its efforts to ensure that the late elder statesman is laid to rest.
Commended and commendable as the Forum and its efforts have been, many commentators wonder whether the Forum will endure beyond the burial of the late Dr Joseph Wayas, GCON, and what will be its focus.
