Ekiti State Governor, Engr. Segun Oni has lamented over the death of Nigeria’s former first lady, Mrs. Maryam Babangida, describing it as “the exit of a phenomenal role model and trailblazer, who injected vibrancy, glamour and colour into the State House.”

Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Wale Ojo-Lanre said in a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti that Governor Oni, who said he could not believe the news initially, noted that; “with Maryam Babangida’s death, Nigeria has again lost one of its great women of strong intelligence and deep thinkers.

Governor Oni, who described the death as sad both for the Ex-President Ibrahim Babangida’s family, the nation and the entire women folk in particular, prayed for the repose of her soul.

“I received with disbelieve the death of former first lady, Mrs. Maryam Babangida, and all that I can say now is that Allah in His infinite mercy will give her husband, former President Ibrahim Babangida, her children, the women folk and Nigerians in general the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

“Particularly, I implore her husband and family members to take solace in Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful, who gives and takes lives when it pleases Him.

“They should also be consoled by the fact that Maryam’s life was a mode, a brand that symbolised service to humanity and absolute dedication to worthy courses.

“She registered her name in the hearts of the people through her involvement in the National Council for Women's Societies (NCWS) where she had significant influence, publication of a book titled: Home Front: Nigerian Army Officers and Their Wives where she emphasized the value of the work that women perform in the home in support of their husbands and most importantly, her Better Life for Rural Women programme.

 “On behalf of my family, Government and people of Ekiti State, I express our heartfelt condolence for the loss of such a distinguished woman of strong character and glamour on whose a journalist wrote in 1990 after the opening of the seven day Better Life Fair in 1990 that; ‘She was like a Roman empress on a throne, regal and resplendent in a stone-studded flowing outfit that defied description...’

‘’May her soul rest in perfect peace.”