Ex-VP Ekwueme who advocated zoning formula dies in London

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Alex Ekwueme, who was recently flown out of the country for medical treatment has died.

He reportedly passed on at a London hospital on Sunday night.

A short statement from the family, signed by his brother and traditional ruler of Oko in Anambra State, Igwe Laz Ekwueme, said the “Ekwueme family regrets to announce the peaceful passing away of their patriarch, the former Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme GCON.

“The sad event occurred at the London Clinic at 10:00 pm on Sunday 19th November 2017.”

The former vice president, who turned 85 in October, was said to have collapsed in his Enugu residence a few weeks ago, and was rushed to Memfys Neurosurgery Hospital, Enugu, where he relapsed and went into a coma.

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President Muhammadu Buhari on hearing of Ekwueme’s condition had directed that he be immediately flown abroad for urgent medical treatment.

The government had however said it would not bear the cost of treating Ekwueme abroad, as its obligations were only to fly him out.

Ekwueme’s proposals at the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) where he served on the Committee on the Structure and Framework of the Constitution, is believed to be what led a number of political parties in the country to adopt the zoning formula.

He advocated for a just and equitable power sharing in Nigeria based on the six geopolitical zones which have now come to be accepted as necessary for maintaining a stable Nigerian polity.

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