The family of former Minister of Information and Communications, late
Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Nkem Akunyili, has released a week-long programme of
activities for her funeral, culminating in her burial on Thursday, August
28, 2014.
The programme, released today in Enugu by Prof. Akunyili’s husband, Dr.
Chike Akunyili, starts with a Christian Wake-Keep at No. 2A Bishop
Onyeabor St., G.R.A. Enugu, to hold from 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22.
A Night of Tributes is to hold at International Conference Centre Abuja
from 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 25, while a Mass would be held for her at
Pro-Cathedral Catholic Church, Abuja, by 10:00 a.m. the next day, August
26.
After the Church Service, Dora’s body would leave for Enugu, where there
would be a Mass at KSJ Temple at 4:00 p.m. After a High Requiem Mass at
Holy Ghost Cathedral Enugu at 9:00 a.m. the next day (Wednesday, August
27), Dora’s body would be taken to UNCOMA Hall, College of Medicine, Ituku
Ozalla, Enugu, for Final College Assembly to start from 11:30 a.m. From
there, the body would be taken to Awka for Anambra State Government
activities, then to Dora’s father’s house in Nanka, before being returned
to her husband’s house at Agulu for a Vigil Mass/Wake-Keep.
On Thursday, August 28, Dora’s body would lie in state at John Chike
Akunyili’s Compound before leaving for Agulu Town Hall, then Madonna
Catholic Church Agulu for a Requiem Mass to hold by 10:00 a.m. Interment
at John Chike Akunyili’s Compound follows at 1:30 p.m.
Dr. Akunyili in a statement expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their
outpouring of love and support for his family at this moment of grief.
“This has gone a great way in helping us to cope with the monumental loss
of our precious gem, my beloved wife, Dora,” he said.
It would be recalled that Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili, a former Director-General
of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control
(NAFDAC), died last Saturday, June 7, after a two-year battle with cancer.
Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili, who was a delegate to the on-going National
Conference in Abuja, would have turned 60 on July 14, 2014.