All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said the intellectual interventions of former Vice President Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme helped Nigerian in navigating critical junctures.
He said this in a condolence message he sent to the family of Dr. Ekwueme who died on Sunday in a London hospital at 85.
In the message made available to journalists by his Media Office on Monday in Lagos, Asiwaju Tinubu said:
“I mourn the passing of Second Republic Vice President, Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme (GCON), who died on Sunday in London at 85.
“Chief Ekwueme lived well. He also served his country well. He was a true patriot and statesman who made personal sacrifices for the unity and stability of Nigeria.
“His deep intellectual interventions often helped the country in navigating beyond critical junctures.
“Chief Ekwueme was a team player. As Vice President, he worked well with his principal, President Shehu Shagari. He was loyal to his boss and faithful to his country.
“As he contributed to Nigeria’s stability through his interventions, he also made laudable contributions to Nigeria’s political lexicon.
“It was Chief Ekwueme who at the 1994-95 Constitutional Conference in Abuja suggested the six geo-political zones as a more realistic structure to create a more equitable system. This has stuck till date. The structure is also often cited in appointment-distribution and calculation.
“Dr. Ekwueme was a fine gentleman and a good family man. I mourn with his family. I mourn with the government and people of Anambra State. I mourn with Nigeria, for we have all lost a patriot.
“I pray that our country be blessed with more of Dr. Ekwueme. I pray that God grant his family the strength to live with this loss and that He also grant the soul of Dr. Ekwueme eternal rest”.
On his part, former Vice President and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives People’s Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar mourns the passing away of former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme describing it as a great loss to the nation at this critical phase of its political life.
In a press statement released by his Media Office in Abuja, Atiku Abubakar,the Waziri Adamawa hailed Dr. Ekwueme as a ‘great man and democrat’, adding that Nigeria’s recent history of democracy and nation-building would be incomplete without his input.
Atiku Abubakar says Dr. Ekwueme’s democratic credentials were of the highest quality saying further that he was always called upon by political leaders in the country notably in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to settle disputes and differences and he never for once was found wanting.
The Waziri Adamawa states further that the late Dr. Ekwueme, a man of great learning who had university degrees in multiple disciplines, was a wise man and a statesman, more than a politician. Atiku said while the average politician bothered more and often about the next election and which office they would occupy, the late Vice President concerned himself with the well-being of the country and how it can be better governed for the good of all.
He recalled that at the National Constitutional Conference, 1994-1995, the former Vice President was a star that attracted most other delegates because of his wisdom and moderate position on contentious political issues. Atiku says the late Vice President was always a voice of balance, moderation and consensus.
Atiku remembers how in his wisdom, and concerned about the best structure that would give the best governance to the country, the late Ekwueme came up with the six geo- political zone structure, which has found its way into our political vocabulary because of its convenient nature and brilliance.
“We were all expecting to welcome him after a few weeks back to his beloved country, Nigeria in good health, only to be confronted by the sad reality of his transition. We cannot question the will of God but only to extend our solidarity and condolences to all who would miss his wisdom and fatherly presence”, Atiku said.
In the same vein, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar enjoins members of the Ekwueme family, the government and people of Anambra State and the government and people of Nigeria to bear with stoicism the passing on of this great and illustrious political leader.
Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme would be sorely missed and the void of his exit, would be difficult to, he concluded.
Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) deeply mourns the death of respected elder statesman, political intelligentsia and Nigeria’s former vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme at 85.
Truly, the nation has lost a fine gentleman and a true patriot who demonstrated that politics and integrity are not incompatible.
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 Gen. 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.
In a related development, former chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, has described the death of Dr Alex EKwueme as a great loss of a fine gentleman politician.
Describing Ekwueme, who was the foundation chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, as a nationalist, Anenih said that the former Vice President played politics without bitterness.
In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, Anenih said “with the death of Dr Alex Ekwueme, the tribe of principled politicians has been further depleted.
“Nigeria has lost a nationalist, a detribalised politician and one who was not given to impropriety in the conduct of government business.
“Dr Ekwueme will sorely be missed by a vast majority of Nigerians who had the privilege of his leadership, political association and interactions. The PDP where both of us played leading roles will remember him for his sterling contribution to its birth and development.
“While I pray that the Almighty God would grant his soul eternal repose, it is my earnest wish that his family would be strong in this moment of grief to be able to bear this great loss.”
