Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi and former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, have joined other Nigerians in mourning the death of the first civilian governor of Abia State, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu.
Onu, an ex-minister of Science and Technology in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, reportedly died in a health facility in Abuja on Thursday following a brief illness.
Obi, via his X handle, @PeterObi, said Onu was a man committed to the development of the nation.
He said: “Dr Onu was a gentleman par excellence, a patriotic and detribalised Nigerian who served the nation in different capacities. His contributions to our educational growth as a lecturer and author remain commendable.”
He said Dr Onu was a leader who stood for peace and progress of the nation, pursued justice and courageously stood up for equity and good governance.
He added: “As one who understood the critical need to move our nation from consumption to production, he pursued many initiatives to boost local production for the development of the nation.
“His death is, undoubtedly, a huge loss to the nation. May God console his family, and all of us who mourn him, and grant us the fortitude to bear his sad irreplaceable loss. May God grant him eternal rest.”
In a short statement via his X handle, @ChidiOdinkalu, the former NHRC boss, said Onu was a man of conviction.
He said: “Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu taught formidable lessons in conviction. He was a resilient, dogged advocate for his beliefs and a man of decency and simplicity.
“At the personal level, he offered me a lot of encouragement even in unpopular causes. I am grateful for his life and legacies. #RIP.”
Deputy National Organising Secretary of All Progressives Congress, Nze Chidi Duru, described Onu as deliberate and focused, adding that his death was a big blow to the APC.
He said: “He was a gentleman, focused and very deliberate. Everything we know about life is a continuum. He has run his race and gone to his maker. We can only continue to wish for his soul to be at rest wherever he is.”
On his own part, National Vice Chairman (South-East) of the APC, Dr Ijeoma Arodiogbu, said, “You remember he was a presidential candidate but had to drop his ticket for Chief Olu Falae when the presidency was zoned to the South West.
“During the merger, he was one of the founding fathers of the party and remained a party man until his death. He was a big wig of the party in the South East. We will miss him so much,” he stated.
A graduate of the University of Lagos, Onu became a teacher at St. Augustine’s Seminary in the Ezzamgbo area of Ebonyi State.
After the completion of his doctoral studies at the University of California, he became a lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, where he rose to become the pioneer head of the department.
The ex-minister began his political career as an aspirant for a senatorial seat in the old Imo State under the umbrella of the National Party of Nigeria.
In 1991, he contested for the position of Governor of Abia State on the platform of the National Republican Convention and won.
Onu was sworn in as the first executive governor of the state in January 1992.
