The Federal government has renamed the Federal University, Ndufu-Ikwo in Ebonyi State after the late former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme.
This is based on the announcement by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday at Oko, Anambra State during the burial of Mr. Ekwueme. The university was established in 2011.
Osinbajo said the renaming had already been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, who had said Mr. Ekwueme was being honoured for his contributions to national development.
EduCeleb.com recalls that Mr Ekwueme who died late last year was Nigeria’s Vice President between 1979 and 1983. He trained and qualified as an architect, sociologist and lawyer.
The late elderstatesman ran for the office of President in 2003 but didn’t emerge a flagbearer of the People’s Democratic Party.
To his credit is the idea of the creation of the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria when he was a member of the National Constitutional Conference in 2005 during the regime of Sani Abacha.
He confronted Abacha with the formation of the G-34, when the late dictator tried to run as life president. G-34 metamorphosed into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which took over power in 1999 when the present republic was inaugurated.
He was an alumnus of the prestigious Kings College, Lagos, before travelling abroad to pursue university education.
His influence facilitated the establishment of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State and he set up a foundation that offered thousands of scholarships to people from the Old Aguata region.
In his reaction, Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi described the development as a welcome one and part of his administration’s educational policy.
Governor Umahi in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, commended the federal government for appreciating his educational policy and rewarding same by renaming a federal government university in the state “after a sage and former Vice President of Nigeria.”
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