Proceedings at the plenary session of the National Conference were hurriedly adjourned on Wednesday following the news of the death of Maryamu, the wife of the Conference Chairman and retired Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi.
Maryamu, aged 70, died at the National Hospital in Abuja at about 2am on Wednesday and had already been buried in line with Islamic rites.
The Deputy Chairman of the conference and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, who presided over a brief session of the conference, said it was only proper that the Conference be adjourned to enable delegates to participate in the burial.
Akinyemi described the late Maryamu as a pillar of strength to Kutigi and regreted that she had passed on at a time the retired Justice was handling a critical national assignment and needed her closeness and wise counsel.
Akinyemi said it was in demonstration of his deep sense of patriotism and commitment to the affairs of the country that Justice Kutigi continued to preside over the conference throughout the period the wife was lying ill in the hospital.
