Mother of former Senate President dies at 88

The mother of former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Florence Saraki has died on Tuesday at the age of 88, while details regarding her funeral arrangements will be shared in due course by the family.

Penpushing reports that Saraki, confirmed the demise in a post on his official Facebook page, explaining that his late mother was from the Ibidapo family in Owo, Ondo State while she was survived by four children

“With profound sadness and total submission to the will of Almighty God, I announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and matriarch, Chief Mrs. Florence Morenike Saraki, who peacefully transitioned today, Tuesday, June 18th, 2024’, Saraki wrote.

‘The late Mrs Saraki was from the Ibidapo family in Owo, Ondo State. She was survived by four children: Bukola Saraki, Gbemisola Saraki, a former senator and Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development; Temitope Edu, a legal practitioner and businesswoman; and Laolu Saraki, who served as a Special Assistant to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’, he added.

Penpushing further reports that he said the family expressed gratitude for the love, prayers, and support they have received during this difficult time, explaining that that details regarding funeral arrangements will be made public in due course.

The Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Rafiu Ajakaye condoled with the Saraki family on the death of their matriarch noted that he(AbdulRazaq) particularly commiserated with the former Senate President and the rest of the family on the sad development.

‘The Governor urges the family to be consoled by the fine legacies of their matriarch. ‘He prayed to God for the repose of her soul and to uphold the family. The Saraki family has played a prominent role in the politics and governance of Kwara State for five decades’, he wrote

Penpushing also reports that the patriarch of the family, late Olusola Saraki, was the Senate Leader in the first assembly of the Second Republic (1979-83) and contested for president in the short-lived Third Republic and in the transition process that led to the Fourth Republic, while his first son, Bukola, was a two-term governor of Kwara State.

The deceased daughter Gbemisola Saraki in the same vein, served for 12 years in the National Assembly, including as a senator for four years, before running unsuccessfully to succeed her brother as governor of Kwara State in 2011.

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