Chukwuemeka Ezeife

Chukwuemeka Ezeife
Governor of Anambra State
In office
2 January 1992 – 17 November 1993
Preceded by Joseph Abulu
Succeeded by Dabo Aliyu
Personal details
Born 20 November 1939
Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra State, Nigeria

Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife was elected governor of Anambra State in Nigeria from January 1992 to November 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic.[1]

Background

Ezeife was born at Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra State on 20 November 1939. He did not attend secondary school, but taught himself through correspondence courses, qualifying for university admission. He gained a BSc in Economics from the University College Ibadan, then attended Harvard University on a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship where he obtain a masters and then PhD degree in 1972.[2] He become a School Headmaster, a lecturer at Makarare University College, Kampala, Uganda, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, and a Consultant with Arthur D. Little in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ezeife joined the civil service as an Administrative Officer and rose to the position of Permanent Secretary.[3]

Political career

Ezeife was elected governor of Anambra State on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform, holding office from 2 January 1992 to 17 November 1993, when General Sani Abacha took power after a military coup. As governor, he was said to be more interested in planning than in addressing immediate developmental needs, and achieved few tangible results.[4] He transferred Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Federal Polytechnic, Oko to the federal government, which helped ensure that they survived in the ensuing military regime.[5]

During the Nigerian Fourth Republic Ezeife, who describes himself as a social democrat, was appointed presidential Adviser on Political Matters to President Olusegun Obasanjo.[2]

Later career

Ezeife was appointed a member of the board of the Center for Development & Empowerment of Commercial Motorcyclists.[3] In February 2006 the Federal Capital development Authority bulldozed his house in Abuja on the grounds that the plot of land and those of adjacent houses had been acquired improperly.[6] In January 2010 he was among thousands who demonstrated in Awka calling for credible and violence-free governorship elections on February 6.[7] In April 2010 one of Ezeife's wives, Onyedi, was kidnapped by hoodlums who had earlier killed four policemen. The kidnappers demanded a high ransom.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Nigerian States". WorldStatesmen. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ademola Adeyemo (10 November 2009). "Sixteen Years After - Where Are Babangida's Civilian Governors?". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "OUR BOARD MEMBERS". Center for Development & Empowerment of Commercial Motorcyclists. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  4. ↑ Christian Ita and Pius Anakali (2001-08-05). "Igbo Vote: Can These Men Deliver?". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  5. ↑ NWABUEZE OKONKWO (August 16, 2009). "Democracy died in Nigeria with Abiola". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  6. ↑ Francis Awowle-Browne (February 26, 2006). "I’m finished, cries Ex- Gov Ezeife, whose house was pulled down by el-Rufai". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  7. ↑ Emmanuel Obe (22 Jan 2010). "Ezeife, others march for free Feb 6 poll in Anambra". The Punch. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  8. ↑ Vincent Ujumadu (26 April 2010). "Ezeife's Wife's Abductors Demand High Ransom". Vanguard. Retrieved 2010-04-29.