From Emmanuel Uzor, Abakaliki
A FRONTLINE civil servant and educationist in old Anambra State, Chief Opoke Odu has died. Odu, who was a governorship aspirant in Ebonyi State in 1998, died in his sleep at the age of 68 on Tuesday in his Enugu residence.
Speaking when he led stakeholders from Ezza Ezekuna to condole with his family, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bernard Odoh, described the death of the elder statesman as a rude shock and national calamity.
Odoh, who was accompanied by other dignitaries of the state government, said that Odu represented integrity, adding that during his stay in various positions, he was an epitome of uprightness and resilience.
He stated that by the death of the elder statesman, Ebonyi State and Ezza Ezekuna in particular have lost a great voice of reason.
“He was a great man and a man who believed in the unity of the entire state. Opoke Odu was a man who believed in hard work; he was a clean man who worked hard for the liberation of Ebonyi State and played active role in the emancipation and creation of Ebonyi State, ” he said.
Odu, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was born in 1948 in Umuoghara, Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and worked as Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission in old Anambra State before serving as a Permanent Secretary in Ebonyi State.