Ex-Ebonyi Governors Protest Naming of Ebonyi Airport After Okadigbo.

Two past Governors of Ebonyi State, Chief Martin Elechi and Senator Sam Egwu has protested the naming of Ebonyi International Airport after Wilberforce Chuba Okadigbo.

The Ebonyi Airport which was built by the immediate past Governor, now Minister of Works, David Umahi, and later handed over to the Federal Government was initially named after the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari however, on the day of his official inauguration of the Airport declined the honour for some obvious reasons and requested that it be named after the late Ex-Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo from Anambra State.

Elechi, while speaking at the grand finale of Nigeria's 63rd Independence and Ebonyi at 27 Anniversary Celebration, held Sunday at the new Government House premises, Abakaliki, faulted the naming of the Airport after Okadigbo.

Elechi acknowledged that while Okadigbo was a notable Igbo politician, the naming of the Airport after him does not reflect the reward principle based on contributions to the development of Ebonyi as a State.

Elechi and Egwu in their separate speeches requested that the Airport be named after the late Senator Offia Nwali, the first black man to obtain a PhD in Computer and Analytical studies from Harvard University, United States of America.

They observed that Nwali, a late 2nd Republic Senator and one of the foremost founding fathers of Ebonyi State has made enormous contributions to the development of Nigeria as a nation, deserving of such an honour of immortalization.

Elechi Sated: "Ebonyi people are not happy to hear our new Airport being called Chuba Okadigbo Airport.

"Chuba Okadigbo is a great Nigerian but he is not known in Ebonyi State neither will Ebonyi people say this is what he did for them.

"When I was Secretary of National Party of Nigeria(NPN), Okadigbo was vying for the Senate.

"We were friendly.
"All I remember is that he used to visit me at Enugu and we wil sit over a bottle of brandy until the bottle was empty.

"We didn’t talk about Ebonyi people or their problems or their solutions.

"Understandably, General Muhammadu Buhari knew our problems.

"When he was the Brigade Major in Abakaliki, he gave us the pass that enabled us to go to Ogoja to plead our case.

"He assisted us to an extent with security people over what we were doing to create Ebonyi State .

"We love him and it was proper to name the airport after him, but since he didn’t accept it, we think the airport should be named after someone else.

"That airport is less than 10 Kilometers to the Primary School where Offia Nwali made his mark as a pupil.

"We think it will be more appropriate to name the airport after him and that is the request I am making on behalf of founding fathers and the people of Ebonyi central zone."

Meanwhile, reacting to the appeal from Elechi, the representative of Ikwo/Ezza South federal constituency of Ebonyi State, Comrade Chinedu Ogah, in an interview, said he would work towards getting the support of other National Assembly members from the State to sponsor a bill towards actualizing the request.

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