George Obiozor, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, is dead.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State announced this in a statement, Wednesday night.
“On behalf of the Government of Imo State, I, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, the Executive Governor of Imo State, sorrowfully announce the passage of a great son of Imo State and Nigeria, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Prof George Obiozor,” he said in the statement.
Mr Uzodinma described the deceased as “an exceptional diplomat and a tenacious patriot.”
The governor said Mr Obiozor’s demise was a big loss to the state, South-east and entire Nigeria.
“I have no doubt that both Nigeria and the international community will miss his profound intellectual contributions and wise counsel on national and global issues,” Mr Uzodinma stated.
He said Mr Obiozor’s burial arrangements will be announced in due course by the family.
The announcement has ended days of speculations about the death of Mr Obiozor, who was reported to have died on Monday at his residence in Imo State.
Mr Uzodinma did not state when Mr Obiozor died. He simply said the octogenarian died “recently” after a brief illness.
A member of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, who asked not to be named, told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Obiozor died of a heart-related disease.
“One of his family members called and told me about it,” he said.
Mr Obiozor, a professor, was 80 years old. He was elected 10th President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on 9 January 2021, taking over from Nnia Nwodo who exited office after the expiration of his four-year tenure.
Mr Obiozor hailed from Awo-Omamma in the Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, Southeast Nigeria.
He served as Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Israel and Cyprus.
The Ohanaeze leader attended the Institute of African Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, and the University of South Tacoma Washington US, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1968 before proceeding to Columbia University, New York, where he had a master’s degree in international law.
He served as a lecturer at Pratt Institute, New York City between 1971 and 1975, and as assistant professor of political science at City University of New York, among others.
During his time as the president of the Ohanaeze, he consistently called for the emergence of a Nigerian president of South-east extraction in 2023.
