Kogi Deputy Govr Leads State’s Leaders in Paying Respects to Late Alhaji Yusuf Okala at Ajiyolo

… Condoles Humanitarian Comm. Hajia Rabietu Over Husband’s Demise

By Abah Benjamin Eneojoh

July 18, 2025

It was a gathering marked by sorrow and gratitude to God for a life well-lived as Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, on Friday, led a delegation of members of the state executive council, government officials, and party leaders in the state to the burial rites of the Late Alhaji Yusuf Okala in Ajiyolo Ajikpome, in dekina local government area. The deceased was the father of Hon. Yakubu Yusuf Okala, the state auditor general.

In his condolence message, the Governor, represented by his Deputy, Comrade Joel Salifu, expressed heartfelt sympathies to the family of Alhaji Yakubu Okala, saying that the funeral serves as a celebration of the good life led by the departed.

He stressed that the education and guidance the late patriarch gave to his children, which made his son the Auditor General of the state, shows his commendable lifestyle. He encouraged parents to provide their children with the finest upbringing and to refrain from uttering curses upon them.

Governor Ododo extended his condolences to the family, traditional leaders, and the local government over the passing of the centenarian and a community leader, praying for divine mercy to grant him eternal repose and to give the bereaved the strength to endure the big loss.

The Deputy Governor was accompanied by Hon. Hilary Ojoma Egwudah, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, and Comrade Tijani Oricha, the State Coordinator of the Agile Project. The funeral prayers witnessed a significant turnout of Members of the State House of Assembly, Commissioners, Agency and Department Directors, Council Chairmen, party leaders, stalwarts, revered Islamic clerics, traditional rulers, and friends.

The Late Alhaji Yakubu Okala passed away at the venerable age of 105 on the 17th of July 2025 at a Lokoja hospital after a brief illness, and he was laid to rest at his residence in Ajiyolo Ajikpome, Dekina local government area according to Islamic rites.

Following the interment, the Deputy Governor paid a condolence visit to Hon. Rabietu Baby Okute, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, over the passing of her husband, Mr. Ndah Okute, in Ajo-Enejoh, Dekina local government area, sympathizing with her and the family over their loss.