The presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu have condoled with the Ndigbo and the family of late president general Ohanaeze, George Obiozor.
Newsonline reports that Atiku and Tinubu described the death of the former ambassador of Nigeria to the United States and the State of Israel as an irreplaceable loss.
In a condolence message on Thursday, the former governor of Lagos State said the death of George Obiozor a champion of unity is a robbery from nature against the people of Ndigbo and Nigeria.
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Tinubu said, “I am deeply saddened by the news of the death of Ambassador George Obiozor, President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide. This great Igbo leader and Nigeria’s elder statesman was a distinguished academic and diplomat who served his people and entire country with honour.
“Ambassador Obiozor’s death at this time has again robbed our dear country of one of its finest public servants and committed leaders.”
“As the leader of Ohaneze, Ambassador Obiozor championed the course of national unity and economic development while seeking a more equitable and even-handed federation where all the constituent units and ethnic groups can live together in peace and harmony,” Tinubu added.
On his part, the presidential candidate of the PDP and former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, described the late Ohanaeze president general, Professor George Obiozor as a charismatic personality whose experience in diplomacy has been a blessing to Nigeria.
‘Prof Obiozor was a charismatic personality. He was much at home in any part of Nigeria. He was a consummate diplomat who believed in consensus and had a stabilizing influence.
“His vast experience in foreign diplomatic missions garnered over decades and across diverse postings was very handy in making him a pan-Nigerian.
“He was generally accepted by even those not in support of his candidacy during the election that saw his emergence as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. He was a master of political consensus.
“A writer famous for his ‘politics of precarious balancing’ in which he espoused balancing the diverse interests in the country. He was a promoter of the unity of the nation,” Atiku said.
The Waziri of Adamawa who has enjoyed over the years the support of the people of South East added that “the Igbo nation will miss him. The whole nation will miss him. Though of Igbo extraction, he was accepted among other leaders and stakeholders in different parts of the country.
“He will be dearly missed, also his voice of wisdom and reason, which is needed at this crucial time of our socioeconomic and political evolution. His was a purposeful life well lived.”