The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu

  • Ohanaeze Southwest mourns Debe Ojukwu

    The Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the Southwest has mourned the death of Chief Sylvester Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu, son of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

    A statement by the spokesman, Prince Erondu Uche, reads: “Akpunwa Omekannaya”, as he was popularly called, was a patriotic Igbo who followed the footsteps of his father. The progress and interest of all Igbo was his top priority.

    “It is disheartening to note that some Igbo icons and legends, that should play vital roles in the development of Igbo nation, are leaving the centre stage at this critical time when they were most needed. His contributions to the welfare of Ohanaeze in the Southwest will be missed.

    “As his body will be buried in Anambra State this weekend, I urge our youths to emulate the good examples he exhibited during his lifetime. He was a peace maker who believed and fought for the unity of all Igbo home and abroad. Seventy per cent of his time was dedicated to the service of humanity.

    “Ohanaeze Southwest has concluded arrangements to immortalise his name. I advise other zones to do same. May God grant his family and all Igbo the fortitude to bear the loss.”

  • Be magnanimous in victory, Ojukwu jnr advises Buhari

    Mr Emeka Ojukwu jnr, Son of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be magnanimous in victory and appoint Igbos in strategic positions during his second term.

    Ojukwu jnr made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Onitsha while speaking on the re-election of President Buhari.

    Ojukwu jnr had in November 2017 dumped the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which was founded by his father for the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing Igbo interest as his decision.

    He said the Igbos supported President Buhari more in the 2019 elections than in 2015 with over 25 per cent votes in three states of the South East because of his achievements in office.

    “Buhari won Aba North Local Government Area based on his performance; he gave the business men and women in Ariaria market an independent power plant to boost their industries.

    “The votes also doubled in Anambra and Ebonyi. We have Senators and Federal Representatives elected on the platform of APC in the South East.

    READ ALSO: Ojukwu’s son defects to APC as Buhari campaigns for Nwoye

    “The Igbos are moving on to the Next level with the APC-led government,” he said.

    Ojukwu jnr commended Buhari for committing N33 billion to the second Niger Bridge and for rehabilitating federal roads in the zone.

    He however, urged the President to use his second term to address the perception that the South East and South-South were being marginalised.

    “We look forward to a better spread in terms of appointments and inclusiveness as he has promised.

    “We hope to see greater investment in the different sectors including power, roads and agriculture,” he said.

    He urged the president to ensure fairness and equity and to see that the country outgrows the old divides based on ethnicity in the interest of national development.

    “Mr President has served the nation in various high level positions and has reached the pinnacle; all that is left is his legacy.

    “What will he do in these next four years for the benefit of the entire nation and how will he be remembered?

    “The answer to these questions lies solely in his hands,” Ojukwu jnr said.

    NAN

  • APGA South senatorial ticket: Many rivers to cross for Bianca Ojukwu

    IT is no longer news that Bianca, the widow of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, is seeking to get the ticket of the  All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to contest for the Anambra South senatorial seat in the 2019 election.

    The matter for the former beauty queen is the numerous hurdles that are standing between her and her quest to achieving her political ambition.

    One of the challenges staring the former ambassador of Nigeria to Spain in the face is  the formidable opposition in APGA that she must subdue  to  clinch the ticket and go on to represent the party in the coming election.

    Bianca, it was learnt, is very  dear to the heart of the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to represent her people at the Red Chambers,  but majority of the APGA family are said to be against such move.

    The late Ojukwu’s wife is contesting  for the position in APGA against other solid opponents like the oil magnate, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah and Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu.

    Though Bianca  has the support of one of the richest men in Anambra, Dr Godwin Maduka and former Governor of Imo state, Chief Ikedi Ohakim among other chieftains,   feelers from the party have it that   the chairman of Capital Oil and Gas, Ubah is being favoured to grab the  ticket .

    During the retreat and book launch of the party penultimate week at Finotel Hotel in Awka, entitled “APGA, the Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs “, the former National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh, reminded the guests how Ubah rescued the party when it had problems in 2012.

    He told the audience that Ubah deserves compensation, adding that no other person had suffered for the party more than the Capital Oil boss.

    Umeh’s glowing tributes about Ubah were greeted with some murmurings, suspected to be  from the camp of Bianca and her promoters who were all in attendance.

    Apart from Umeh’s open endorsement of  Ubah, some APGA chieftains told The Nation that the ambition of Ojukwu’s wife is tearing their party apart and “if not checked by the powers that be, it might lead to the party losing Anambra South senatorial election in 2019.”

    The other  battle confronting  the delectable widow of  the ex- Biafra warlord, is the internal  wrangling with members of  her late husband’s family.

    Some members of the Ojukwu’s family are reported  not to be  in good terms with the ex-beauty queen turned politician. Some of them, including Ikemba The Second, Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, are said to be seeing  her as a stranger in their family.

    Besides, The Nation gathered that some of the family members and APGA faithful, see her as arrogant, pompous and a snub who will never remember any of them if she wins any election.

    In spite of the numerous  rivers she has to cross, political observers in the state believe that Bianca still has some things  working for her. “ Though she may not be an oil magnate or a money bag, being the widow of Ojukwu and being the daughter of late former governor of the  old Anambra State, Chief Christian C Onoh, endears her to many of us. Again, Mrs Ojukwu, who is a lawyer is the most qualified among the contestants and has the pedigree and mien to wrestle the ticket from the others,” said  a chieftain of the party loyal to Bianca  who did not want his name  in print.

    Another  political bigwig in the state, Dr Godwin Maduka from Umuchukwu in Orumba South Local Government Area, that falls within the zone, believes that Bianca is the best thing that could happen to the zone.

    Just like Umeh publicly sought support for Ubah,  Maduka urged the people of Anambra South to support the ambition of Bianca Ojukwu, as she had the capacity to showcase Nigeria as a country of heroes and heroines through her academics, family and political experiences.

    According to him:”We know her life history.  Money  alone cannot be equated to leadership. Having the education, money, compassion, empathy, sympathy and having passed through poverty make her the best to run for the seat.

    “We should appreciate Bianca Ojukwu for agreeing to run for public office.  I believe that she is not only qualified, but over qualified.

    “I am sure she has learnt a lot from her late husband, Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Igbo supreme leader and from her father, late C C Onoh. I’m happy she has accepted to run for public office, “Maduka said

    To show his support for  Bianca’s ambition,  Maduka at the book launch and retreat of the party in Awka, donated N20million to dwarf Ubah, Ukachukwu and others’ donations.

    The fate of Bianca Ojukwu as it stands, is hanging in the balance, as the people of Nnewi are said not to be in support of her ambition since their son, Dr Ubah is also in the race.

    But the wife of the late  Ikemba appeared unruffled as she is said to be convinced that majority of the people, especially the youths,  are solidly behind her aspirations.

    As the aspirants continue their quests for the senatorial ticket of APGA in the south zone, would Bianca react in the political arena, the feat that fetched her  the most beautiful queen crown?  Only time will tell.

  • Bianca endorses Alex Otti’s candidature

    Wife of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, (former Biafra leader and past leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)), Olivia Bianca, has officially endorsed Dr. Alex Otti as the party’s governorship flag bearer of the party in Abia State.

    Bianca’s endorsement of Otti, many sympathisers and supporters of the party in the state said have put to rest the controversy surrounding the emergence of the former Diamond Bank chief as the authentic flag bearer of the party in the state.

    Recall that the emergence of Otti as the governorship candidate of the party through parallel APGA primaries has been causing ripples as Otti and Chief Reagan Ufomba have been holding campaigns under the platform of APGA ahead of the April 11 poll putting the supporters of the party in doubt on who the authentic governorship candidate was.

    The wife of the former Biafran warlord who made a special appearance during a mega rally held in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state, was warmly welcomed and cheered to the podium by the jubilant crowd and APGA supporters who defied the rain to attend the rally.

    The Nigeria’s Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs and current Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain recalled the giant strides of the former Diamond Bank MD, describing Otti as the best candidate for the governorship slot in the state.