By Ovie Okpare
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and former Governor James Onanefe Ibori on Saturday described the passage of the founder and publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Late Sam Nda-Isaiah, as a huge loss to the country.
Okowa and Ibori in both separate statements eulogised the former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as patriotic Nigerian who believed in the Nigeria project.
Nda-Isaia, publisher of Leadership Newspaper, passed on Friday in Abuja after a brief illness. He was aged 58.
Okowa in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, the Delta governor commiserated with the Nda-Isaiah family, management and staff of Leadership Newspapers over the passage.
The governor also condoled with members of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the media and the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the death of the respected entrepreneur, politician and philanthropist.
He said, ” on behalf of the Government and people of Delta, I condole with the Nda-Isaiah family, the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the entire staff and management of Leadership and National Economy Newspapers over the passing of a great Nigerian, Mr Sam Nda-Isaiah.
“He was a committed Nigerian, a publisher of repute, an astute politician and philanthropist whose commitment to the realization of a great and truly democratic Nigeria is discernable.”
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According to the governor, late Nda-Isaiah was a leading pro-good governance advocate and a consistent voice on contemporary and national policy discourse.
“As we mourn his painful departure, I pray that God will bring solace to his family and members of staff of his media conglomerate who will miss him the most, and grant him eternal rest,” he added.
Similarly, Chief Ibori in a statement signed by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, while condoling with the family of Nda-Isaiah, described the departed as a “man with strong convictions.”
The former Delta governor said, “He was not just a Leadership newspaper publisher but an influential columnist who maintained a weekly newspaper column for decades. Nda-Isaiah the businessman and writer was also a politician who grew to the stature of contesting seriously for the presidential ticket at the national primaries of the All Progressives Congress.
“Because of Sam Nda-Isaiah’s background as journalist and politician, added to his inclination to audaciously speak his mind on political issues, his paths and mine often crossed, especially during the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and the controversies of that period.
“On one occasion, I had a reason to reply to one of his articles – and he honoured my right of reply and published it in the space meant for his column. That was commendable.
“Beyond that, he was courageous enough to say openly, years later, that he was misled on certain things he wrote about me, and that he was sorry. It takes personal courage and a large heart to do such, but then, anyone who knew Nda-Isaiah would have also known that he was courageous and that he had a large heart.
Ibori sends his condolences to Nda-Isaiah’s family and the Leadership newspapers and prays that God will give them the grace to keep his dreams alive. “That is the greatest tribute they can pay to that worthy Nigerian” he added.
