Ned Nwoko | |
---|---|
Senator for representing Delta North | |
Assumed office June 2023 | |
Preceded by | Peter Nwaoboshi |
Member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria | |
In office 3 June 1999 –3 June 2003 | |
Constituency | Aniocha/Oshimili |
Personal details | |
Born | Chinedu Munir Nwoko 21 December 1960 |
Political party | People's Democratic Party (PDP) |
Alma mater | |
Website | senatornedmunirnwoko |
Prince Chinedu Munir Nwoko (born 21 December 1960) popularly known as Ned Nwoko is a muslim, Nigerian lawyer, philanthropist and politician who serves as the senator representing Delta North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate. [1] [2] [3] He was a member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003 representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, Delta State. In January 2020, he undertook a symbolic expedition to Antarctica to flag off a Malaria Eradication Project. [4]
He was re-elected to represent the people of Delta North senatorial district in 2023 in the Senate of Nigeria representing Oshimili North Federal Constituency, Delta State, Nigeria.
Prince Chinedu (Ned) Munir Nwoko was born on 21 December 1960 into the Nwoko Royal Family, Idumuje Ugboko Kingdom in Aniocha North Local Government Area. He received primary and secondary education in Nigeria. He moved on to the United Kingdom, got his first degree in Law and History at the University of Keele, Staffordshire UK. He also attended King's College London, where he obtained an LLM in maritime and commercial law. Nwoko was subsequently called to the English bar, at Lincoln's Inn. [5] He was awarded Honorary Doctorate degree in Letters (D.Litt) by Commonwealth University College, Belize, North America.
Nwoko began his legal career with a brief start at crown prosecution service and qualified as a solicitor of the supreme court of England and Wales. He worked at Kumars Solicitors and Pascaldiers & Co Solicitors before establishing Ned Nwoko & Co Solicitors in London.
Nwoko was secretary general, Nigerian legal practitioners UK, Member of the Law Society, England and Wales and was visiting adviser, citizens' advice bureau, based in London. At the peak of his legal sojourn in UK, he had the biggest black law firm in England and was recognized as the best black lawyer of African descent in England 1995. [6]
Nwoko returned to Nigeria in December 1998 and made an entry into Nigeria's political scene when he was elected member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003. [7] He represented Aniocha / Oshimili federal constituency, making an impressive showing in the legislative house.
Nwoko was instrumental to the initiation of the London and Paris Club Loans refund into Nigeria. He authored the reports that led to Nigeria government's discontinuation of monthly deductions from states’ allocations and commencement of refunds to States. [8] Through his Law firm, Ned Nwoko Solicitors and his Company Linas International he investigated the multinational creditors and discovered discrepancies in loan repayments, and this resulted in the refund of the first tranches of loan beginning from the Obasanjo administration. [9] He also charged the Federal government to court on behalf of 774 Local governments for the refund of illegal deductions and obtained judgment of $3.2billion for the local governments. The Federal government of Nigeria has refunded all the monies in line with the court judgment of 2013. [10] [ unreliable source? ]]. Nigeria under the Buhari Administration was able to overcome her economic recession culminating in the payment of backlog of salaries of public service workers and development of infrastructure. A total of $20 billion has been refunded to States and Local Government because of his work. Nwoko also served on the Vision 2010 Committee and is a member of the capital market. He served as Chairman of the External Committee of Vision 2010. Nwoko is also the Chairman of Project Tourism Africa. [11]
In 2023, Nwoko was elected as the senator representing Delta North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate. His election was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Asaba. [12]
Nwoko is a strong advocate of Malaria eradication in Africa. [13] He is the initiator of the Ned Nwoko Malaria Eradication Project. [14] [15] He flagged off the Ned Nwoko Malaria Eradication campaign via a symbolic expedition to the Antarctica in January 2020. [16] The Foundation is supporting the existing efforts of vaccine development by funding a research for the anti-malaria vaccine through a partnership with leading universities in Africa and other research establishments. [17] [18]
In January 2020, Nwoko flagged off the malaria eradication campaign via a symbolic expedition to Antarctica. Nwoko made history as the first black African to ever visit the South Pole, Antarctica. [19] Nwoko leveraged on the global attention this expedition attracted to create awareness on the scourge of Malaria and how to permanently eradicate it in Africa. [20] Nwoko and other adventurers arrived the Geographical South Pole, one of the two points where the Earth’s axis of rotation intersects its surface. There he made history for Nigeria and Africa by mounting the Nigerian Flag making Nigeria the 13th country to hoist a flag there, announcing to the world that Africa is ready to solve the African problem, malaria. However, the Nigerian Government must take the necessary steps to ratify the Antarctic Treaty for the flag to remain there. [21]
Nwoko is the founder of the tourism destination Mount Ned Nwoko, one of 21 tourism sites approved by Delta state government. [22] The tourist site consists of museum, farm, zoo, fishponds, poultry and a 9-hole golf course. [23]
Nwoko is the founder of Sports University, [24] located at Idumuje ugboko, the first sports University in sub Saharan Africa. [25] [26] The university which was granted operational license in 2022 by the federal government of Nigeria, through the National Universities Commission NUC, is offering courses in sports and other disciplines and would resume full academic activities soon. [27]
Through his foundation, Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation, he has contributed to the empowerment and education of youths of his constituency, senatorial district and state. [28] In 2019, he donated $273,000 (N100M) for the rehabilitation of failed portions of the road linking the South Eastern Nigeria to the nation's capital, Abuja. [29]
Nwoko has several wives and many children, Nollywood actress Regina Daniels is his latest wife. [30] [31] [32]
Delta State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1991. Bordered on the north by Edo State, the east by Anambra and Rivers states, and that south by Bayelsa State while to the west is the Bight of Benin which covers about 160 kilometres of the state's coastline. The state was initially created with 12 local government areas in 1991, but was later expanded to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. Its capital city is Asaba which is located along the River Niger on the northeastern end of the state, while the state's economic center is the city of Warri on the southwestern coastline.
Chimaroke Nnamani is a Nigerian medical doctor and politician from Enugu State. He was elected Governor of Enugu State in the 1999 Enugu State gubernatorial election from 1999 to 2007. He subsequently served as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator for Enugu East Senatorial District from 2007 to 2011 and was re-elected in 2019.
The Anioma people are a subgroup of the Igbo people predominantly indigenous to present day Delta State, Nigeria, along with communities in Edo State. The Anioma people encompass and are native to the nine northeastern Local Government Areas of Delta State and the Ika-Igbo communities of Edo State. Politically, the Anioma occupy the Delta North Senatorial District where they are the majority group.
Demas Nwoko is a Nigerian artist, protean designer, architect and master builder. As an artist, he strives to incorporate modern techniques in architecture and stage design to enunciate African subject matter in most of his works. In the 1960s, he was a member of the Mbari club of Ibadan, a committee of burgeoning Nigerian and foreign artists. He was also a lecturer at the University of Ibadan. In the 1970s, he was the publisher of the now defunct New Culture magazine.
Enuani is an Igbo dialect spoken in Nigeria by the Anioma people of Delta State, Onitsha, Obosi and Ogbaru in Anambra State, Mgbidi in Imo State, Ndoni in Rivers State and some parts of Ibaji in Delta state. Enuani is tonal like the rest of Anioma dialects and is particularly related to the standard Igbo pronunciation in many regards. The Enuani dialect is the dominant Anioma dialect in Delta State.
Aniocha North is a Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, with its headquarters in Issele Uku. It comprises the subgroup of Anioma and towns. The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) permanent orientation camp for Delta state is located at Issele Ukwu town.
Ifeanyichukwu Arthur Okowa is a Nigerian doctor and politician who served as Governor of Delta State from May 2015 to May 2023. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party, he was the party's vice presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election running alongside Atiku Abubakar who was the presidential candidate.
Idumuje Unor is a town situated in the Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, lying between 6020’ 01.4’’ N and 60 22’ 06.5’’ N and between 60 25’ 01.4’’ E and 60 27’ 06.6’’ E. It is located 5 kilometers from Issele-Uku, the headquarters of Aniocha North and has a growing land area of 16sq km and current estimated population of about 20,000 inhabitants. It is bordered to the west by Onicha-Ugbo, to the North by Idumuje-Ugboko and Ewohinmi in Edo State, to the East by Onicha-Uku and Ugbodu and to the south by Issele-Uku. The name Idumuje in the Esan language could be translated to mean; Idumu - Community/Quarters and Oje - King/Royal. In other words, Idumuje means Royal Quarters or Kings' Quarter. Worthy to note: Another Idumuje named location could be found at present in Benin. The suffix "Unor" is an inclusion to the town's name so as to differentiate it from the breakaway community Idumuje -Ugboko; by a man called Nwoko and his supporters some 300 years ago. Ugboko is translated to mean "Ugbo" - Farm & "Oko" - a shortening of the name Nwoko.
Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor is a Nigerian Christian evangelist and politician of Anioma heritage. She is a member of the People's Democratic Party and has since 2015 represented Aniocha North-Aniocha South-Oshimili North-Oshimili South in the House of Representatives. Prior to her election into national level politics, Onyemaechi served as a member of the Delta State House of Assembly for Aniocha South from 2007 to 2015.
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