04/08/2026
Late last week — Thursday, 30th to Friday, 31st July, 2026 — the remains of Late Pa Simon Okorie Abaa, father of my indefatigable leader, mentor and benefactor, Rt. Hon. Linus Abaa Okorie, FCA, were laid to rest at his country home in Isiama Onicha-Igboeze, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Late Pa Simon Okorie Abaa, till his last breath, was a loving husband, dependable father, caring grandfather, and a trustworthy community leader whose life did not only impact positively on the lives of his immediate family members, but on all of us who had the privilege to come across him and benefit from his wealth of wisdom, rare mentorship and fatherly counsel.
Papa was not merely an elderly man in age; he was an institution of wisdom, a reservoir of knowledge, a custodian of tradition, and a father whose footprints of integrity will remain permanently engraved in the sands of time.
His passing signifies the end of a remarkable era, but the values and virtues he imparted to his family, community, and everyone privileged to know him shall continue to inspire generations yet unborn.
As his body has been committed to mother earth, we pray that God grants the immediate family, the entire Onicha-Igboeze clan and everyone whose heart bears the vacuum of Papa’s departure, the fortitude to bear the loss.
May Papa’s gentle soul continue to rest in perfect peace. Amen.
- Ejike Bankman
