Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme has died in a London hospital, a statement from his family has confirmed.
The statement signed by his brother and the traditional ruler of Oko in Anambra State, Igwe Laz Ekwueme, said that the 85-year-old died by 10:00pm on Sunday.
“Ekwueme family regrets to announce the peaceful passing away of their patriarch, the former Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dr Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme GCON.
“The sad event occurred at the London Clinic at 10:00 pm on Sunday 19th November 2017, the statement reads,” the statement reads.
Ekwueme had slumped in his Enugu residence on October 28 and immediately taken to the Memfys Neurosurgery Hospital Enugu, where he relapsed and went into a coma.
He was flown to London in an air ambulance last week on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, had visited him at the hospital last week.
Mustapha had told the Ekwueme family that the President and Nigerians were praying for the speedy recovery of the elder statesman, adding that he believed that the doctors were doing their best.
Ekwueme was Nigeria’s vice president from 1979 to 1983.
