Tambuwal, Ihedioha, Others Mourn
Former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd) has described the late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu as a great Nigerian who fought for the betterment of the society.
In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, Babangida said Ojukwu was driven by the things he believed and advocated for the just “distribution of power and political bargaining”.
He said, “Even at old age, Dim still believed in the cause he fought for. He shared his sentiments about the country barely a year ago when I paid him a visit at his country home to inform him of my intention to run for the last 2011 presidential election. He was his vintage self, taking me down memory lane about the Nigerian situation.”
“Ojukwu felt that the Igbo nation deserves more than it is getting and did give me his words that he was going to support me on the assurance that I would take a Nigerian of Igbo extraction as my running mate in the presidential contest”.
He said Ojukwu believed in a president of Igbo extraction in “the spirit of unity and stability.”
“The nation will miss this solid voice from the east of the Niger, this leader of men who stood firmly by his people all through his journey in life,” Babangida added.
Meanwhile, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, has described the demise of Ojukwu as an irreparable loss to the nation because he left indelible marks on the sands of Nigeria’s history.
The deputy speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, has also said that the death of Ojukwu had left a huge vacuum in the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria.
Also, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a former minister of information and communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, the Peoples Democractic Party (PDP),the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) have extolled the virtues of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu and describe him as a symbol of patriotic courage.