Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Minister of Transportation Ojo Maduekwe died on Wednesday June 29, 2016 at age 71.
Mr. Maduekwe died at about 7pm on Wednesday at a hospital in Abuja. A close associate of the former minister said that Mr. Maduekwe was returning to Nigeria from the U.S. via Dubai when he fell ill.
“He fell ill while on air from Dubai and he was rushed to the hospital as soon as the plane landed in Abuja, but he died before doctors could do much,” he said. The associate could not provide further details as he broke down while speaking on the phone.
Mr. Maduekwe was recently appointed the secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees.
Speaking to journalists from Saudi Arabia, the chairman of the BoT, Walid Jibrin, said Mr. Maduekwe died at a time his services were most needed.
“He passed on at a critical time when we needed him most. I was waiting for him to come back from U.S. where he travelled to so that we can find a way of addressing the problems in the party,” he said.
Madueke would be remembered by many as the man who tried to popularise the use of bicycle as a means of transportation in the city. This made people to refer to him as "Ojo oni keke”, which means Ojo, the bicycle man.
No doubt, it is expected that a politician of his caliber who had been active in politics since 1983 would have many milestone achievements under his belt.
Here are some of the things worthy of note about the late three-time minister:
1. He was Born on May 6, 1945 in Abia State, Nigeria.
2. He was a native of Ohafia, Ohafia LGA of Abia state.
3. He obtained a degree in Law from the University of Nigeria Nsuka in 1972
4. He became a Member of the National Assembly (Second Republic) in 1983
5. He worked as Minister in the Federal Minister of Transport from 2000 to 2003
6. Ojo Madueke was Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2010.
7. Before then, he had a brief stint as the Culture and Tourism minister under the President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.
8. Madueke Was the first Cabinet Minister to design and create an Anti-Corruption Unit as Transport Minister 2000-2003, 3 units which became the model for other Ministries and Government Agencies.
9. As transport Minister, he began and concluded the First Railway Master plan for Nigeria to span over a period of 25 years.
10. He also helped Nigeria to get on the International Maritime Organisation White List without which the entire Maritime Sector would have grounded.
11. He was a Ruling Elder at the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria
12. He was a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club International
13. He was a member of the Nigeria Bar Association
14. He was an Associate Member of the American Bar Association
15. He was a member of the International Bar Association
Punch/Premium Times
No comments:
Post a Comment