Emmanuel Uduaghan: My boss sleeps

By Sunny Areh Delta weeps today. The stethoscope that once listened to the heartbeat of our state is still. His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, has gone home, two sunrises shy of 72. You governed with a smile, you led with a listening heart. This morning of October 19, 2026, that smile rests. You did not rule us, you treated us. You diagnosed our pains, you prescribed progress, you built with the patience of a physician.

You dreamed of a Delta Beyond Oil because you believed in a people beyond riches. I have lost my boss, my teacher, my light. Rest well, Your Excellency. Your memory will forever remain in our hearts, and your legacy will endure in the lives of those you touched. Go well, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, Physician of Delta, Father to many, Boss to me. Your light never dies.

May your gentle soul rest in perfect peace. This is an immeasurably sad day for me By Tony Nwaka What can I say? How do I begin to narrate my story with him? Will words ever be enough to capture the breadth of his affection towards me? How can I ever forget those exceptionally inspiring words he said to me some days after he was elected Governor of Delta State in 2007?

I had gone to meet him at his residence with my CV. As he saw me clutching the big brown envelope, he asked, “What is that you have in your hand?” “I have come to present my CV to you, sir, so you could kindly consider me for a position in your government,” I said in a smattering, somewhat quivering tone. He looked at me from head to toe, smiled, and as he walked away, said, “Return your CV, I don’t need it.

People who intend to work with me should rather be bringing their CVs to you for onward submission to me.” I was stunned and speechless as I returned home that day with my CV, bristling with overwhelming wonder and inexpressible gratitude. And as a man of his word, he not only appointed me as a commissioner in his government, he kept me for the entire eight-year duration of his tenure.

That is the man who has just exited the portals of mortality. Indeed, a great man is gone. I have lost a beloved political father — Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, Governor of Delta State (2007-2015). My heartfelt condolences to Her Excellency, Mrs. Roli Uduaghan, and the entire Uduaghan family. I pray his soul finds eternal repose with the Lord, and may His inexhaustible beneficence grant his family the fortitude to bear the loss.

Dr. Tony Nwaka, former Commissioner for Education, Delta State.