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| Akunyili |
The Presidency has denied a report saying
it is planning to rename the University of Ibadan after the late former
Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and
Control, Prof. Dora Akunyili.
Akunyili, who served as the Minister of
Information and Communication between 2008 and 2010, died on Saturday in
a hospital in India, having battled with cancer in the last two years.
A Twitter handle purportedly belonging to
the Nigeria Television Authority had quoted the Special Adviser to the
President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, as saying the
President was planning to immortalise her by renaming the nation’s
premier university to ‘Dora Akunyili Memorial University’.
“Mr. President may consider renaming
University of Ibadan as ‘Dora Akunyili Memorial University’ to honour
the late NAFDAC boss,” the Twitter handle, @NTA_News , had quoted Abati
as saying.
But the presidential spokesman in a swift
reaction denied making any of such statement, declaring that there was
no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds on social media.
Writing on his Twitter page, Abati noted
that while the Federal Government held Akunyili and her family in high
esteem, the President had no such plans.
“Nobody ever said Mr. President is
considering naming University of Ibadan after late Prof. Dora Akunyili.
Please ignore fake news. On Dora Akunyili, there is an official
statement conveying President Jonathan’s heartfelt condolences. We stand
by that statement,” Abati tweeted.
Also, the management of the NTA has dissociated itself from the statement said to have emanated from its social media account.
Describing the Twitter handle as bogus, the NTA vowed to shut it down and ensure the prosecution of those behind the rumour.
“The handlers of @NTA_News have been
advised to shut down the Twitter account. It is a crime to impersonate a
government agency. You risk being prosecuted,” the NTA warned on its
official Twitter page.
Meanwhile, more tributes have poured in
for Akunyili, with many sympathizers describing her as a dedicated
public servant who faced risks to fight the proliferation of fake drugs
in the country.
The Governing Council, management and
members of staff of NAFDAC in an online tribute to Akunyili, said she
was a “great patriot and woman of great virtue.”
According to them, while Akunyili held
sway as the helmsman of the agency, she was patriotic and selfless and
was always prepared to make the necessary sacrifices and contributions
for a better society.
Commiserating with the Akunyili family,
her former colleagues at NAFDAC said her “determination, focus,
resilience and commitment to duty” remained unparalled.
“The Governing Council, management and
entire staff of NAFDAC commiserate with the Akunyili family on the
painful demise of our amiable past DG. Prof. Akunyili was a woman who
loved Nigeria deeply and dedicated her entire life up till the very last
minute to the service of this great nation.
“She was an Amazon, a rare gem and a
heroine of modern day Nigeria whose passion to excel was second to none.
We pray the Almighty to grant her eternal rest and give her family and
the nation at large the fortitude to bear this,” they added in the
tribute posted on Twitter.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said she received the news of her death with “great sadness.”
“Great sadness at the news of Dora
Akunyili’s death. She was full of life and passion for causes she
believed in. Sleep peacefully, my sister,” Okonjo-Iweala wrote on
Twitter.
A former presidential candidate and
publisher of the Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, noted that it was
difficult to accept the news of her death.
“Aunty Dora, I know you will feel highly
fulfilled and very proud to see the way the world is celebrating you
today! Aunty Dora, how cruel can death be! Even when you disagreed with
my views, Aunty Dora you still called to commend my use of language!
“Aunty Dora, your words ring stridently
in my ears, and you were so full of wisdom! It is difficult to accept
that Aunty Dora is gone, a lady so full of life!” Momodu tweeted.
A one-time vice-presidential candidate of
the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Fola Adeola, praised Akunyili
as a “truly amazing” public officer who “fought bravely and very hard,”
to safeguard the lives of many Nigerians.
“After the terrible experience she had in
the East in the hands of hired killers, I had asked Dora why she had
continued to pursue her job as NAFDAC head the way she had.
“Hear her, ‘Fola, it is the only way. If I
allow fake drugs to thrive, I am a murderer; if I allow fake baby foods
to circulate, I am a killer of our children. Brother, it is the only
way. Let them kill me, not kill millions,” Adeola said in a Twitter
post.
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