The first civilian governor of Abia State and immediate past Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, is dead.
Reports say Onu died Thursday morning at a hospital in Abuja.
A close friend of his, Chief Chekwas Okorie, reportedly said that Onu suffered a stroke on Wednesday, from which he did not recover.
It was learnt that he had the first bout of partial stroke, which he had battled in recent times before the fatal second stroke.
The American trained scientist, teacher and politician, was 71 years old.
Ogbonnaya Onu was a lecturer at University of Port Harcourt before he made a foray into national politics during the knock-kneed transition programme of military President, Gen Ibrahim Babangida from 1991 to 1993.
He was elected governor in 1992 and served until Gen Sani Abacha overthrew Ernest Shonekan’s interim administration in 1994.
Onu remained in politics and made a few attempts to run for President.
He resigned as Minister of Science and Technology in the Buhari administration to contest the presidential primaries in 2022.
At the time of filing this report, his family had yet to formally confirm his death.
