- Safiu Kehinde
Cross River state Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Abubakar Ewa, has died.
This was disclosed on Thursday by Nsa Gill, the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor.
The Commissioner reportedly passed away on Wednesday evening at the Arubah Specialist Hospital in Calabar, the state capital.
According to Gill, Ewa was present at the state’s executive council meeting earlier on Wednesday, which was presided by Governor Bassey Otu.
He would later excuse himself from the meeting and was taken to a clinic by his driver.
“Ewa died yesterday. He was present at the state executive council meeting. He even contributed during the presentation.
“A few minutes later, he excused himself and I think his driver drove him to the clinic. So we never knew that he went to a hospital.
“So it was from the hospital that he went to, that news came back to the governor that he had died,” Gill disclosed.
The Chief Press Secretary said the governor received the news with shock, adding that a press release would be issued later.
Prior to his appointment as a Commissioner, Ewa served as Secretary and later, Chairman of the Boki Local Government Council.
He also served as Special Adviser on Community Relations and Secretary of the Anti-Deforestation Task Force.