From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Chief Fidelis Ozichukwu has emerged as the President-General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
In a statement issued late on Saturday, the National Publicity Secretary of the group, Alex Ogbonnia, noted that Ozichukwu is to complete the Imo State balance of 27 days, which ends on 10 January 2025.
According to the statement: “The emergence of Ozichukwu is as a result of a chain of catastrophe which has visited Ohanaeze with the demise of Ambassador Professor George Obiozor, CON, in 2022.”
Parts of the statement further read: “In order to complete the tenure of Imo State, the people of Imo State presented Chief Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to Imeobi Ohanaeze for the replacement of the late Obiozor.
“By the application of a doctrine of necessity, Iwuanyanwu was sworn in on 30 April 2023. Unfortunately, Chief Iwuanyanwu died on 25 July 2024 and was buried on 1 November 2024.
“It is in line with the doctrine of necessity that the Imo State Chapter of Ohanaeze, led by Barrister C.J. Ihemedu, presented Nze Ozichukwu to the Imeobi Ohanaeze to exhaust the balance of the four-year tenure allotted to Imo State. The motion for the adoption of Nze Ozichukwu was moved by Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, Chairman of the Imo Council of Elders, and seconded by Chief Simon Okeke (Ochendo).”
“In moving the motion, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya stated that Ozichukwu is a cerebral thinker with sterling qualities.”
The statement described Fidelis Ozichukwu as a Nigerian management executive and entrepreneurship development consultant who attended prestigious institutions such as Templeton College, Oxford University; Harvard University (Harvard Institute for International Development), Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; University of Bristol’s School for Advanced Urban Studies (SAUS) and School of Policy Studies (SPS); the University of Lagos; Ogun State University (CETEP); and Galilee College, Tivon, Israel. He holds M.Sc. and MBA degrees, among others.
Ozichukwu has served as a director at Inland Bank Plc and as Managing Director of Nigeria Merchant Bank (NMB) Plc. He is a founding member of the Technical Committee for Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
He was also Chairman of the Presidential Committee for the Reorganisation of the River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria and a member of the 2005 National Political Reform Conference. Additionally, he served as National Vice Chairman/Chairman of the PDP South-East Zone for eight years before returning to management consulting.
His contributions to the Catholic Church and society have earned him the Worthy Knighthood of St. Mulumba (KSM) and Papal Knighthood of Saint Sylvester (KSS). Nze Ozichukwu also received the Peace Award of the United Nations International Parliament for Safety and Peace in 2002.
He is a Chartered Management Consultant (CMC), a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC), and a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).