Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, says the State and Nigeria has lost an invaluable personality in late Pa Philip Poroma, father of the State Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mr. Joseph Poroma.

Governor Amaechi said this today during the Funeral Mass in honour of the deceased at St. James’ Catholic Church, Kpite in Tai Local Government Area of the State.

Represented by his deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru, the Governor, admitted that late Pa Poroma lived an impactful life, noting that for him to have lived for advice for the living, condoling with the family and community on the irreplaceable loss.

“I very specially condole with the Poroma family over the loss of their beloved father. He may be 101 years but the loss of a father, the loss of a dear one still remains, in fact causes the same amount of tears. If anything the fact that he is old enough at the ripe age of 101 he has more advice to give the rest of us,” he said, adding that “his demise at this time is not only painful to the family to the community but indeed to the state”.   He pointed out that “everyone of you should know that he had lived a good life. 101 years on earth calls for robust celebration,” regretting that his demise has created a vacuum not just in the family but in the State at large. In his message, the guest preacher, Reverend Stephen Deedua, urged the people to use the opportunity to reflect on what would be written on their epitaphs when they died, counseling them to be diligent in numbering their days, just as the Lord has commanded.

Speaking, the State Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mr. Joseph Poroma, who is also the chief mourner and first son of the deceased, described his late father as “a great man who fought a great battle and won most,” saying “we are proud to have called him our father, no word can describe what we thought of him,” stressing that the deceased maintained “a lifestyle that was a challenge to those of us he left behind”.

his chosen career, emphasizing that he is one of the few staff I feel proud of calling a good man without regrets during my tenure as the then Commissioner for Lands and Housing. I cant deny the fact that he is a man but if he says yes, I comfortably rely on that because his yes cannot be compromised.

Engr. Ikuru said the late Umesi has left a good footprint which people can testify about today, urging his family and those he left behind to maintain the same attribute, adding that it is beneficial to live and die with a good name than with much wealth.

Earlier in his exhortation and quoting from 1st Corinthians 5: 9-10, the Pastor of First Baptist Church, Rumuewhor, Pastor Wilcox Nabo, charged all Christians to live right and please the Creator because life on earth is nothing but a short journey, adding that the character of a man tells the story of how he lived his life here on earth, adding let your journey not be a sad tale at the last day when the glorious call would be made.

Also speaking, the younger brother of the deceased, Mr. Azunda Nkomadu, reiterated that the role of his elder brother in the family cannot be easily forgotten, thanking the Deputy Governor and all who stood by the family at a time like this.