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 (1939-11-20) (age 71) 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. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Nigeria_federal_states.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Ademola Adeyemo (10 November 2009). "Sixteen Years After - Where Are Babangida's Civilian Governors?". ThisDay. http://allafrica.com/stories/200911110210.html. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "OUR BOARD MEMBERS". Center for Development & Empowerment of Commercial Motorcyclists. http://cedecomnigeria.org/ourboard.php. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
4. ^ Christian Ita and Pius Anakali (2001-08-05). "Igbo Vote: Can These Men Deliver?". ThisDay. http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2001/08/05/20010805cov02.html. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
5. ^ NWABUEZE OKONKWO (August 16, 2009). "Democracy died in Nigeria with Abiola". Daily Sun. http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/powergame/2009/aug/16/powergame-16-08-2009-002.htm. 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. http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/powergame/2006/feb/26/powergame-2-26-2006-002.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
7. ^ Emmanuel Obe (22 Jan 2010). "Ezeife, others march for free Feb 6 poll in Anambra". The Punch. http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201001224153435. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
8. ^ Vincent Ujumadu (26 April 2010). "Ezeife's Wife's Abductors Demand High Ransom". Vanguard. http://allafrica.com/stories/201004270521.html. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 

Persondata
Name	Ezeife, Chukwuemeka
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1939-11-20
Place of birth	Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra State, Nigeria
Date of death
Place of death