The leader of the Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, George Obiozor, has passed away.
Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State, made this announcement in a statement on 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
The declaration puts a stop to days of rumours surrounding the passing of Mr. Obiozor, who was said to have passed away on Monday at his home in Imo State.
Mr. Uzodinma omitted to provide Mr. Obiozor’s death date. He merely stated that the elderly man passed away “recently” after a brief illness.
According to reports, Mr. Obiozor passed away from a cardiac condition. A professor, Mr Obiozor was 80 years old.
On January 9, 2021, he was chosen to serve as the 10th President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, succeeding Nnia Nwodo, who resigned after his four-year term had come to an end.
Mr. Obiozor was an Awo-Omamma native from Imo State’s Oru East Local Government Area in southeast Nigeria.
He served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Cyprus, Israel, and the United States.
The Ohanaeze leader studied at Columbia University in New York and the Institute of African Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. He also attended the University of South Tacoma in the US, where he earned 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.
Between 1971 and 1975, he lectured at Pratt Institute in New York City. He also worked as an assistant professor of political science at City University of New York.
He frequently demanded the election of a Nigerian leader of South-east ancestry in 2023 while serving as the president of the Ohanaeze.
