From Titus Eleweke (Awka), Peter Moses (Abeokuta) & Muideen Olaniyi (Abuja)
The Minister of Aviation in the First Republic, Chief Mbazulike Amechi has died at the age of 93 years.
Chief Amechi who hailed from Amihe village in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra died on Tuesday in a brief illness, his family has stated.
The elder statesman was the only surviving member of the Zikist Movement of the pre-independence era.
“We thank God for the fulfilled life that he lived, the lives that he touched and his service to God and to country.
“We respectfully ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers at this time,” the family’s statement signed by Ezeana Tagbo Amechi, his son, read in part.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have paid tribute to the late nationalist.
President Muhammadu Buhari, while paying tribute, said the elder statesman and First Republic parliamentarian was a great patriot who believed deeply in a united Nigeria, and continued to work for its progress, undeterred by his age and personal circumstances.
The President, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, extended condolences to the Amaechi family, the government and people of Anambra State and Ohaneze Ndigbo on the passing of Chief Amaechi.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, while mourning the elder statesman, described him as unyielding activist, decent and amiable gentlemen.
In a condolence statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi on Tuesday, Obasanjo recalled how the late statesman joined others like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Anthony Enahoro, among others, in their evergreen proposition way back in 1960 for Nigeria to be granted independence from our erstwhile colonial masters.
The presidential candidate of the PDP and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, in a statement released in Abuja by the Atiku Media Office, urged Nigerians not to forget, but be rather grateful to the generation of these our heroes past, which Mbazuluike Amaechi represented for their love for our country and learn from them, the values of patience, selflessness, patriotism and national unity without which our nation cannot endure into greatness.
In his condolence message, the member representing Nnewi South/ North and Ekwusigo Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chris Azubogu said: “You have not only paid your dues in the service of our dear country, beginning from her journey to independence but also showed the world how hospitable we can be as a nation when you housed the late Nelson Mandela in your private home when he came in search of refuge in Nigeria during the apartheid regime in South Africa.”