Former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described A former Vice President of Nigeria, the late Dr Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, as a man of destiny who exemplified the best of Nigeria.
Ekwueme died in London, United Kingdom, on November 19, 2017 and will be buried in Oko, Anambra State, on February 2, 2018.
In a tribute by Tinubu released yesterday from his media office and signed by Tunde Rahman, the APC leader said Ekwueme elevated himself through hard work, love of country and an innate sense of dignity and decorum to become a consummate statesman.
“That he would devote this wealth of knowledge and learning to the betterment of the people of this nation made him great. He was as outstanding a patriot as any man could be. His sense of humanity was palpable. There was no mean bone in his body. There was no malice in his speech. There was no evil in his deeds. He acted in the best of our traditions but also with a unifying and positive vision for the future,” Tinubu said.
He recalled that Ekwueme made his mark in the social and educational development of Nigeria long before he became the Vice President of Nigeria in 1979.
He said, “He started an Educational Trust Fund responsible for sponsoring the education of many youths to universities in Nigeria and abroad. At the national level, Dr Ekwueme was a member of the housing sub-committee of the Adebo Salaries and Wages Review Commission.
He said had Dr Ekwueme been allowed to play his right role in the political party he helped create, Nigeria would have been a better place.