The President-General of the Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof George Obiozor, is dead. He was aged 80.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma confirmed the development in a statement made available on Wednesday night in Owerri.
Obiozor, Nigeria’s former Ambassador to the United States, emerged as the president-general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo on January 10, 2021.
The group had on Tuesday dismissed reports of its president’s death.
The statement reads in part, “On behalf of the Government and people of Imo State, I, Senator 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, Prof. George Obiozor.
“A renowned academic, an exceptional diplomat, a statesman, and a tenacious patriot, Prof George Obiozor passed on recently after a brief illness.
“The death of this foremost Igbo leader and former Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States and the State of Israel is a big loss to Imo State, the South-East, and entire Nigeria.
“I have no doubt that both Nigeria and the international community will miss his profound intellectual contributions and wise counsel on national and global issues.”
