Recently, a popular national newspaper in Nigeria, THE NATION broke a news that Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General lost her father, Professor Chukuka Okonjo on March 15th 2021 at the age of 91.
The report claim a statement was released released by Okonjo-Iweala revealing that her father died in Lagos after arriving from the US and Ghana.
“On behalf of my siblings and relatives of the Umu Obi Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Uku, I announce the passing of my father, Obi Professor Chukuka Okonjo, the immediate past Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State at the age of 91.
“He died in Lagos soon after he arrived from a trip to the United States of America and Ghana.
“We are immensely grateful that his last moments were peaceful and that he died the same way he lived his life – with quiet dignity,” the statement read in part
A thorough investigation and findings by DAILY GIST however revealed that the report is fake and false.
DAILY GIST gathered that Okonjo-iweala father, Prof. (Obi) Chukuka Okonjo has died but he passed away in 2019.
Before his death, he was the immediate past obi of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta state.
Below is the statement released in 2019 by the WTO DG, Okonjo-iweala on his father’s death;
“We are immensely grateful that his last moments were peaceful and that he died the same way he lived his life – with quiet dignity.
“Daddy was an accomplished man on so many levels – a highly respected academic, international public servant, university administrator, intellectual and traditional ruler.
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“He held: BSc Mathematics, London, UK; Msc Mathematics, Erlangen, Germany; MSc Economics, Erlangen, Germany; Phd Mathematical Statistics, Cologne, Germany.
“My father touched so many lives personally and professionally.
“Having witnessed the ravages of war, he was committed to unity and peaceful coexistence of all,” she said.
“From his marriage of 66 years to our mother, Professor Kamene Okonjo to his dedication to duty, he was exceptional.”
Okonjo-iweala in it’s latest reaction had also debunked and refuted the fresh reports that her father, Prof. (Obi) Chukuka Okonjo, who passed away in 2019, died on March 15, 2021.
In a statement issued by her Media Adviser, Paul Nwabiuku, she described the reports as disturbing and appealed for an end to fresh messages consoling her and her family.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports that Prof. Chukuka Okonjo, former Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, who passed away in 2019, died again on March 15, 2021. As a result, the Okonjo and Iweala families have been inundated with condolence messages and inquiries.
“It is difficult to determine the agenda behind the strange and unprofessional story published on the eve of the 91st birthday of the late Prof. Kamene Okonjo, who was the wife of the late Obi.
“But the erroneous reports and the reactions they have elicited from family, friends, and associates are causing the family much distress and we urge media platforms still carrying the reports to desist in the interest of decency and professional ethics,” the statement reads.”
