Madam Elizabeth Evoeme, popularly known as Ovularia in the 80s TV sitcom, ‘The New Masquerade’, has passed on.
She was aged 82.
Ovularia’s demise came exactly four and a half years after she was rumoured to have been dead on November 5, 2019.
“Friends, fans, colleagues, the family of the legendary actress, Elizabeth Lizzy ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme, would like to notify the public, all those who loved her and her work in ‘The new Masquerade,’ of her passing.
“Elizabeth ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme will be dearly missed and was extremely loved by her family and also by you, her fans.
“We thank you all for your support and for respecting our privacy at this time. God bless you all and may our dear Elizabeth ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme rest in perfect peace, now and always,” the family had said while announcing her passage.
Meanwhile, her London-based daughter, Justina Ngozi Evoeme, confirmed Ovularia’s demise, describing it as painful and shocking, adding, “I need to get my head around what has happened.”
Evoeme was rumoured dead on November 5, 2019, when her passage was reportedly announced on Twitter by one Churchill Ebhodaghe without any detail regarding the cause of her rumoured demise.
Dismissing the rumour, Ovularia, on November 8, 2019, reportedly said that those behind the rumour deserved to be punished.
She said: “There was never a time I was so sick that it get to the paper or the media. I was never so sick that I needed prayer and I made it public. My sickness is just the sickness of elderly people — arthritis, hypertension, that’s it.”
Asked if she knew what was responsible for the rumour, she said: “I wish I knew. I wish someone can answer the question for me. Those behind the rumour deserve punishment.”
Following the rumour of her death then, her on-screen husband, Chika Okpala popular for his role as Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwaogbe alias 4.30 in the sitcom, dismissed the rumour.
“Who’s wishing her dead? I am telling you now that Ovularia is not dead. You can call her on the telephone and she will speak to you. Wishing her death means that she will live longer,” Zebrudaya reportedly said.
However, in view of the past rumour, the deceased’s daughter, Justina said the death of her mother this time was real.