Charles Amaechi, the older brother of the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi was on Saturday in his country home, Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He died in June, aged 64, at the University of Port Harcourt teaching hospital
The minister while eulogizing his deceased brother during a church service at the St. Theresa Catholic Church Ubima said his brother’s death has left a huge family responsibility on him, as it would be difficult to combine both family and official responsibilities.
According to him: “He has left us with a huge responsibility that I never imagined would be so soon to confront, and a challenge that I lack the capacity to discharge. Chikamkpa, Lemchi, Obinna, Judith and I will find it difficult to come to terms with his death. We can only pray that Dede rests in the bosom of the Lord.
“Dede, as he was widely known, was generous to a fault. Dede was a name given to him by me in reverence to his ubiquitous care and fatherly role in our lives. He was everything to everybody and was full of life, he related with both the young and the old and got all his children educated.
“He protected all of us from the vagaries of the Nigerian society. He contributed to the payment of my school fees and ensured that we were not fatherless at the death of our father as he assumed the responsibilities of the family. He made my younger siblings complete their education and got them engaged in their different spheres of responsibilities”, he remarked.
In her condolence message, the Minister of State for Transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki, said the deceased lived a worthy life bequeathed with legacies for which he would be fondly remembered.
“I wish to join you to offer gratitude to God for the life he lived and I urge you to continue to uphold his guiding values as a tribute to his loving memory”, she said.
Also, Chairman of the All Progressive Congress ( APC) in Rivers State, Isaac Ogbobula, described the deceased as a perfect gentleman and a devout Christian of the Roman Catholic faith and a Knight of St. Mulumba.
“He was a committed and dependable party leader and regularly offered valuable and stabilising advice on burning political issues. Dede never lost hope in the APC but was always looking towards the brighter side of things for the party”, he said.
