A member of the burial committee for late actress Moji Olaiya, Mrs. Foluke Daramola-Salako, has said only the family of the deceased can make public details of the donations and funeral plan for the star actress.
According to Daramola-Salako, the funeral details would come out after her body arrives in Nigeria.
The family of the deceased has been in a dilemma on how to convey her body to Nigeria.
Succour, however, came their way on Monday, when the committee approached All Progressive Congress stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who rose to the occasion.
The committee would not say how much was given to them by Tinubu, saying the family reserves the right to make the donation public, if they choose.
A source in Tinubu’s camp also declined to give the exact amount, saying the former Lagos State governor did not expect the committee to make his donation public in the first place.
“All I can tell you is that members of the burial committee for the late actress approached the APC stalwart, saying they needed help to bring the body of the actress home, especially on the request of the deceased 18-year-old daughter, and he gave them some money yesterday (Monday),” said the source.
Reports indicated that the committee had estimated that about USD17,000 would be required to bring the corpse and the baby to Nigeria, being the amount presented, albeit unofficially, to Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose few days ago.
The late Olaiya was delivered of a baby girl on March 17 in Ontario, Canada, after which she died from a heart attack on May 18, at the age of 42.
“Moji is an ambassador of Nigeria,” said Mrs. Daramola-Salako, who debunked the rumour that the actress’ body was released a long time ago.
She stated that the body was only released on May 20.
Publicity Secretary of the burial committee, Yomi Fabiyi, in a separate chat, corroborated Daramola-Salako on the date the corpse was released.
“It was just two or three days ago that the government of Canada released the body for burial,” Fabiyi said over the phone. “It had been going through autopsy.”
On how long it would take to begin the funeral rites, he said: “Like I am told, to get the required papers, tickets for the baby and the two people accompanying the corps, and all the necessary Customs and Immigration papers is going to take like one week.
“I don’t want to speculate because it also depends on the availability of flight and how speedy the process can be,” he said.
Headded that the body of the actress will be accompanied by Yinka Farinde, a film promoter in Canada. The baby will also be arriving with a personal nurse.
The committee said more people can still donate money since the funds being solicited will support the welfare of the late actress’ family.
Source: The Nation