|
Listen to article
|
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday was part of those who paid a glowing tribute to the First Republic Minister of Aviation and erstwhile federal parliamentarian, Chief Mbazulike Amechi.
President Buhari said that the late Amechi intervened whenever the country was at a crossroads to ensure that not only the South East but the entire country was at peace.
He described him as a patriot whose lifestyle is worthy of emulation by Nigerian leaders.
Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja at ‘a Day of Tribute,’ organized in honour of Chief Amechi at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, President Buhari, who was represented by Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige said that Mbazulike Amechi, popularly called ‘The Boy is Good’ will be missed and that his demise will leave a vacuum in the sands of history in the country.
Read Also: Release Kanu To Show Respect To Mbazulike, Iwuanyanwu To FG
He said: ‘Mbazulike Amechi is an epitome of what every Nigerian leader should be aspiring to be. He was a man of peace and did everything possible to ensure that there is unity and peace in every part of the country.’
Buhari went further to narrate how Mbazulike Amechi, before his demise, paid him a courtesy call at the presidential villa in the company of some notable elders from the South East and requested that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu should be released to him.
The President quoted Chief Amechi as saying that ‘the unconditional release of Kanu will not only bring peace to the South East, it will rebuild the trust of the people in your administration.’
Buhari, who further recounted how Amechi accommodated late Nelson Mandela, who was declared wanted by the then apartheid regime in South Africa, in his house in Lagos, added that such gesture stands out the late elder statesman as a patriot and lover of humanity.
He said that the history of Anambra State can never be complete if the name of Chief Amechi is not mentioned because he was a galvanizing force that ensured that the state is one of the largest states in Nigeria in terms of human capital development.
