Otuoke, the hometown of Dr Goodluck Jonathan was agog at the weekend as people from all walks of life including the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, his Taraba State counterpart, Agbu Kefas and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, joined the former Nigerian President to bury his elder sister, Madam Obebhatein Jonathan.

Other Dignitaries present at the funeral of late Madam Obebhatein, aged 70, who died on January 11 this year were the Senator representing Bayelsa West, Chief Seriake Dickson, Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim

Speaking at the ceremony, Goodluck Jonathan said he received the devastating news of his elder sister’s death while he was in London, noting that she was the only surviving sibling of his from his aged mother, Mama Eunice Afeni-Jonathan.

The former Nigerian President, who noted that his sister left at a time when a huge gathering of high-profile personalities from all over the country could come to Otuoke to pay their respects, said the sad part was that it was her aged mother who is mourning her.

He therefore called on the clergy and all people of goodwill not to relent in their prayers for his traumatized mother, himself and the entire members of the Jonathan family.

He said, “Death, as they say, is something that we all pass through. But the time it comes also matters; yes, we all will die someday but the time matters.

“My elder sister died at a time that we can gather these celebrities to celebrate her, but that our mother is to mourn her is the nasty aspect of the whole thing.

“My mother has lost her first child that ought to mourn her when God calls her. I have to sincerely thank the Bayelsa State First Lady and other women who came around her because I was then in London.

“If you knew what she used to be and what she is now, you would know that she is still traumatized. So continue to pray for my mum. God will see us through. I thank you.”