PHIL OKOSE, Onitsha
President Bola Tinubu paid tribute as the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, NEC, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu, was laid to rest in his Ajali community, Orumba North Local Government Area, Anambra state, on Friday.
Aged 83, (1941-2024), Nwosu’s funeral service was held at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Ajalli, while the condolence ceremony was at Ajalli Primary School, where President Tinubu, ably represented by the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi paid tribute.
Others who paid tribute were Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives and Hon. Mazi Paul Obu, Minority Whip, Anambra State House of Assembly.
The funeral mass was officiated by Rt. Rev. Dr. Samuel Ezeofor, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Aguata, with participation from leading religious figures such as Bishop Chigozie Nwachukwu, Vice President of Igbo Pentecostal Bishops and Church Leaders of Nigeria; Dr. Anene Nwachukwu of Rhema Divine Mission Cathedral, Lagos; and Prophet Barr. Ejike Nwachukwu of Rhema Cathedral, Nnewi.
In his tribute, Barr. Captain Casmir Nwafor, Mayor of Orumba North Local Government area,, emphasized that Nwosu’s electoral innovations laid the groundwork for Nigeria’s modern democracy, stating, “His legacy is not just in what he did but in the electoral reforms that followed his footsteps.”
Governor Soludo, in his tribute, described Nwosu as “a man of courage who, despite the odds, gave Nigeria its best election to date.”
He further noted that “while the Senate may have rejected the motion today, the push to honor him is far from over.”
Others at the event decried the Senate’s decision, with some attributing it to tribal and political bias, arguing that had Nwosu been from another part of the country, his name would already be etched in Nigeria’s electoral history.
Recall that Prof. Nwosu was believed to have conducted the freest presidential election in which MKO Abiola, was believed to have won the election of June 12, 1993 Presidential election.
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