- Former Governors Sam Egwu and Martin Elechi request renaming Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo International Airport, Onueke, to honor Senator Offia Nwali
- They argue that Okadigbo had no significant impact on Ebonyi State, unlike Senator Offia Nwali who made a notable contribution
The first Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Sam Egwu, and his successor, Chief Martin Elechi, have requested that the Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo International Airport, Onueke, be renamed after Senator Offia Nwali.
They made the appeal at Ochudo Centenary City, Abakaliki, during the 63rd Independence celebration and the 27th anniversary of the establishment of Ebonyi State.
Elechi, speaking on behalf of Ebonyi State’s founding fathers, expressed dissatisfaction with the naming of the new airport after Okadigbo, emphasizing that Okadigbo played no active role in the creation or growth of the state during his political career.
Elechi said;
Before these creation, there were founding fathers; before the withdrawal of white men from Nigeria, there were founding fathers that were driven to have new states and new environment that will favour their people.
Today, we are happy to be in Ebonyi State and an independent Nigeria. Just lately, development comes with turbulence and tribulations. We have been facing both , however, victory has been the crown of all the struggles. We are grateful to God and thankful to all those who are have one way or the other make out state.
Also, Your Excellency Ebonyi people are not happy to hear our new airport being called Chuba Okadigbo’s Airport. Chuba 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 state secretary of NPN, National Party of Nigeria, Okadigbo was vying for the Senate. We were friendly. All I remember is that he use to visit me at 5 Igboeze Street, Enugu, and we will settle over a bottle of brandy till the bottle was emptied. We did not talk about Ebonyi people or their problems and solutions.
Understandably, General Muhammadu Buhari knew our problems. When he was the Brigade Major in Abakaliki, he gave us the pass that enable us to go to Ogoja to plead our case otherwise we would have been arrested by 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 , the airport should be named after someone else. That airport is less that ten kilometer to the primary school where Senator Offia Nwali made his marks as a student. And that is the request I am making on behalf of the founding fathers and on behalf of the people of Ebonyi Central Zone.
We thank you for your hard work for your vision for the development of Ebonyi State. It is a very good vision indeed, he said.
The Chuba Okadigbo Airport, built during the previous administration of David Umahi, cost the state N43 billion. Still, the current government has awarded a contract for the reconstruction of the runway for N13 billion.
This is because the runway, which was constructed of cement concrete, is not smooth enough for the aircraft to operate.