Taraba Loses Ex-Health Commissioner, Ishaku Mourns

The former Commissioner for Health Taraba state under the immediate past leadership of Governor Darius Ishaku is dead.

Dr Innocent Vakkai passed on at the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo, Taraba state capital on Friday, May 3 after a brief illness.

He was a member of the Taraba State Executive Council between 2015 and 2023.

This was confirmed in a statement on Sunday by the former governor who described Vakkai as one of the brightest and hardworking members of his cabinet.

Lakisha said he received the news with sadness and was greatly pained by the former commissioner’s death.

He recalled the contributions of Dr Vakkai to the huge achievements of his administration in the area of primary health care, the reconstruction of three general hospitals in Gembu, Bambur and Wukari, each of them with MRI machines and the reduction of infant mortality and frequent death of women during childbirth.

He expressed sympathy with members of the family of the late former Commissioner and prayed to God to console them and to also grant the soul of the departed former Commissioner eternal rest.

Meanwhile, the Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas has described as shocking the demise of the former commissioner of health.

In a tribute, Governor Kefas said the late Vakkai was an assiduous worker who once had the onerous task of managing the Ministry of Health during the Covid-19 crisis. He said it was a job Vakkai gave himself to and did well.

He further described Vakkai as a gentle and soft-spoken personality who took his assignments seriously to deliver brilliant results in his chosen field and stressed that the work ethic of the late commissioner remains emulative and a shining testimony of the good works he did.

In condoling with the family, Kefas sympathized with the widow and children of the late commissioner and emphasized that Vakkai has left a huge vacuum both in his profession and the family circle that cannot be easily filled.

He prayed for the repose of Vakkai’s soul while wishing the friends and families of the deceased the fortitude to bear the loss.