The first civil governor of Abia State and former Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has been confirmed dead.
According to a source close to the deceased who spoke to the ABN TV on Thursday, the former governor died after a brief illness in an undisclosed hospital in Nigeria.
Recall that the late 72-year-old former governor of old Abia State, during the 2023 general election, contested for the presidential flag of the All Progressive Congress (APC) but lost to Ahmed Tinubu.
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Dr. Onu was a distinguished scientist and educator before entering the political arena. He served as a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt before transitioning to national politics during the aborted civilian rule transition under President Ibrahim Babangida in the early 1990s.
Dr. Onu secured the governorship of Abia in 1992. However, his term was cut short due to the military takeover led by General Sani Abacha in 1994, which ousted the civilian administration of Ernest Shonekan.
Despite the interruption to his governorship, Dr. Onu remained a prominent figure in Nigerian politics. He contested for president on multiple occasions and most recently resigned as Minister of Science and Technology under President Buhari to participate in the 2022 presidential primaries.
