By Baron Ike
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu are deeply concerned over the death of respected elder statesman, political intelligentsia and Nigeria’s former vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, who died on Sunday in London at 85.
The APC and Ekweremadu said Ekwueme was not just a patriotic Nigerian but a pillar of democracy in the country.
“Truly, the nation has lost a fine gentleman and a true patriot who demonstrated that politics and integrity are not incompatible,” says the APC in a statement by the party spokesman, Bulaji Abdullahi on Monday.
Abdullahi wrote: “The APC will remember the late Ekwueme as a stabilizing voice in Nigerian politics over the years. Many will attest that the late Ekwueme’s political ideas and interventions greatly and positively shaped the country’s political fabric. The Party recalls that at the 1994-95 constitutional conference, the late Ekwueme suggested a six-zone geo-political structure to create a more equitable system. That structure is now in operation in the country today.
“The late Ekwueme was also undoubtedly one of the strong pillars of democracy in the country. Through the G-34 group, he was a key actor that doggedly fought for the country’s return to a democracy during the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha and ultimately birthed the present fourth republic.
“As a Party, while the death of the late Ekwueme is a sad and painful loss, we should take solace in the fact that he lived a long, accomplished and impactful life. The task before us is to, therefore, keep his legacies aglow.
“The Party offers its heartfelt condolences to the late Ekwueme’s family, the President of the country, the people and government of Anambra State over the sad loss. We pray the Almighty God grant his deserving soul eternal rest and the family the strength to bear the loss.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ekweremadu, has expressed grief over the death of the former Vice President of Nigeria, Chief Alex Ekwueme.
Ekweremadu described the death as a sad event for Nigeria and her democracy, noting that Ide Oko, as he called him, was a pillar of the nation’s democracy and the struggle for a restructured, just, equitable, and prosperous Nigeria.
He said: “Dr. Ekwueme combined the uncommon toughness and courage of Heracles with the wits of Odysseus and Nestor. His fearless battle against military rule as the convener of the Group of 34 eminent Nigerians (G-34) can be likened to Heracles’ heroic encounter with the hydra-headed chthonic monsters.
“Ekwueme was a fine gentleman and an epitome of politics without bitterness. Although he lost the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), an offshoot of the G34 and pan-Nigerian political platform he built from the scratch, he remained faithful to the party in thick and thin until his death.
“He will be remembered as a public administrator per excellence and a soldier of conscience. He stood by his people during their most challenging and difficult time, knowing that politics has a local flavor most of the time. He offered his undiluted professional service in the design and development of access to the air for Ndigbo during the civil war 1967 to 1970. As the Head of Planning of the Biafra Airports Board, the late prodigy built two functional airports in Ulli and Uga, while the airport projects at Mbaise, Ntigha Ngwa, Umuleri, and Arochukwu were at various completion stages before the end of hostilities.
“Yet, as a detribalized and pan-Nigerian, he joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) rather than the Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) in the journey to the Second Republic. He also did Ndigbo a great honour by facilitating the state pardon and eventual return from exile, and reunion of late Ezeigbo Gburugbu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, with Ndigbo and Nigeria”.
The Senator added that Ekwueme bequeathed a legacy of integrity and strength of character as “he was until his death reputed to have left Office as the Vice President of Nigeria poorer”.
While condoling the Ekwueme family, Government and people of Anambra State, and indeed the entire nation on the great loss, Ekweremadu prayed God to grant the deceased a peaceful repose.
Also, former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel said the late Ekwueme was a national icon whose contributions helped to stabilise democratic ideals in the nation’s polity.
Daniel stated that until his death, Ekwueme was among the few remaining titans of modern Nigerian politics.
According to the former governor, “late Ekwueme was an exceptional personality who lived a life full of achievements in his professional career as an architect of international repute and also in the field of politics where he established himself as a remarkable politician and rallying point among his kinsmen, contemporaries and generality of Nigerians.”
“Articulate, focused, disciplined and patriotic, Dr. Ekwueme held aloft democratic ideals of the nation’s founding fathers and never wavered in the quest for a better Nigeria. This won him great respect from across the political spectrum putting him at a foremost spot as a legend and natural leader”.
Daniel prayed Almighty God to grant him eternal rest.