Saraki mourns Osotimehin

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of a former Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, at age 68.

Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, described the death of Osotimehin as a monumental loss, not only to Nigeria but to the international community.

Saraki said: “Osotimehin was a doctor’s doctor. He was one of the finest in the medical profession in this generation. As a medical doctor myself, I know first hand, the zeal and devotion with which Osotimehin plied his trade.

“His passion for excellence enabled him to rise to the zenith of his profession and subsequent emergence as the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and later Minister of Health during the administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

“Thereafter, he was entrusted with an international assignment, as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Population Fund (UFPA), since January 1, 2011 – a position he held until his demise last Sunday. He shall be sorely missed,” Saraki lamented.

He called on the Federal Government to immortalize Osotimehin in view of his extensive contributions to national development in healthcare administration.

Saraki commiserated with the immediate family of the deceased, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the people and government of Ogun State, over the irreparable loss.

While praying God to grant the soul of the deceased eternal rest, Saraki called on the nation’s medical practitioners to borrow a leaf from the exemplary professional lifestyle of the late Osotimehin.