The founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Atedo Peterside, has expressed his dismay over comments made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio at the funeral of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe.
The funeral, held in Rivers State, followed the death of Mr Wigwe, his wife, son, and others in a helicopter crash in the United States last month.
In a post on his X page, Mr Peterside recounted that Mr Akpabio began his address by lamenting that former Anambra state governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, received a better reception than himself.
Expressing his disapproval, Mr Peterside questioned the appropriateness of making jokes and political jibes at a solemn event.
He described Mr Akpabio’s remarks as “self-centred and totally insensitive.”
“For the record, I was among those who found the Senate President’s comments at the Wigwe Family Funeral in PH to be in poor taste. He began by lamenting that PeterObi received greater applause than he (Akpabio) got & later told us to join him in consoling the widow who was lying in one of the 3 caskets in front of him. Jokes? Political jibes at a solemn Combined Funeral? Methinks that was self-centred & totally insensitive,” he wrote.
Mr Wigwe, along with his wife Chizoba and son Chizi, died in a helicopter accident in the United States on 9 February.
Their bodies were laid to rest on Saturday at their ancestral home in Isiokpo, the headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area in Rivers State.
