Ezeife, Ex-Anambra Governor, Dies at 86

Mayowa DurosinmiDecember 15, 20231 Mins read251

Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the former governor of Anambra State, passed away at 86. According to a brief press announcement signed by Chief Rob Ezeife on behalf of the family and released on Friday, Ezeife passed away at the Federal Medical Centre in Abuja on Thursday.

The statement in parts reads, “On behalf of the Ezeife Dynasty of Igbo-Ukwu, I wish to announce the promotion to glory of our most distinguished son, ‘Okwadike,’ Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, CON, a former governor of Anambra State, a former president’s political adviser, and a former presidential candidate.”

While this is a sad departure, the chief announced, “The event took place yesterday at 6 pm at the Federal Medical Center, Abuja, and more details about the burial of the deceased would be announced later.”

However, it is worth noting that the now-deceased ex-governor, Ezeife, was born on November 20, 1937, in Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra State. He did not go to secondary school. Instead, he educated himself through correspondence courses, allowing him to enter a university. After graduating from University College Ibadan with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, he went to Harvard University on a Rockefeller Foundation grant to pursue a master’s degree, which he eventually completed in 1972, and a doctorate. He went on to work as a school headmaster, a lecturer at Cambridge, Massachusetts’s Arthur D. Little, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, and a consultant at Makarare University College in Kampala, Uganda. After beginning her career in the civil service as an administrative officer, Ezeife was promoted to permanent secretary.