The home of Obong Udo Ekpenyong, the late chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State, in the Ukanafun Local Government Area of the state, was completely destroyed by fire.
The late PDP chairperson Elizabeth Udo Ekpenyong’s wife and her sister, Ms. Ofonime Frank, were also killed in the Christmas Eve fire.
This is in line with a statement made to reporters on Tuesday by Udeme Idiong, the local government’s secretary of the Transition Committee.
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The statement mentioned the council’s head of the Transition Committee, although it did not specify what caused the fire.
All local government indigenous people were to observe seven days of mourning, according to Godwin Ekpe (JP).
Additionally, it said that the council chairman had asked the state government for permission to remove the whole Ukanafun contingent from the ongoing Christmas Carol event, which was set to take place on December 28, 2023.
“The Chairman of the Transition Committee, Ukanafun Local Government Area, Elder Godwin Ekpe JP, has declared a seven-day mourning period for all indigenes of Ukanafun Local Government from Tuesday, December 26, 2023 to Monday, January 1, 2024,” the statement continued. “This follows the tragic fire incident that occurred at the residence of our late state party chairman, Obong Udo Ekpenyong, on December 24, 2023, which claimed the lives of his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Udo Ekpenyong, and her sister, Ms. Ofonime Frank.”
Additionally, he has worked with local government partners and received state government consent to withdraw Ukanafun’s presence from the current Christmas Unplugged events, which were originally set to take place on December 28, 2023.
“We pray for the departed souls’ repose, while expressing our sympathies to the deceased’s family.”