Tope Oke, Akure
Family of the late past governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu on Friday scaled down the burial arrangements to a strictly family affair.
Also, they mourned with families of those who died on Thursday on board the aircraft conveying the corpse of the late governor to Akure for lying-in-state.
Casualties of the plane crash included the Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Deji Falae and a protocol officer attached to government house, Mr Layi Deji.
At the family house of the Agagus for the low-key ceremony were former governors of Ekiti State, Segun Oni; his Osun and Ogun States counterparts, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
Others included business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim; Oni’s deputy, Sikiru Lawal; Agagu’s deputy, Otunba Omolade Oluwateru; human right activist, Dr Tunji Abayomi; former NNPC boss, Mr Funso Kupolokun and a host of others.
In a statement by Femi Agagu, on behalf of the Agagus, the family said, “The family of the late Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, even in its own bereavement, deeply mourns the death of all those who lost their lives in the ill-fated plane crash which occurred when Dr. Agagu’s body was being taken home for burial.
“In deference to all the families who are in bereavement, and out of respect for the memory of the departed, the Agagu family has decided to scale down the details of the funeral to its barest and basic minimum.
” Accordingly, the funeral will now be a private family affair, shorn of all the pomp and pageantry of a State funeral.
“It is also instructive to note that the traditional Christian wake was entirely cancelled yesterday.
“The Agagu family deeply commiserates with all the bereaved families and prays fervently for the repose of the souls of all the departed, even as the family continues to remain in close contact with all the families affected by this tragedy.”
