The Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State Prof. Uche Ikonne is dead.
This is contained in a statement signed by his first son Dr Chikezie Uche-Ikonne and posted on the Facebook page of the Abia State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Eze Chikamnayo on Wednesday.
The statement reads: “I regret to announce the death of my dear father, Prof. Eleazar Uchenna Ikonne, who died at the National Hospital Abuja today, 25th Jan. by 4am after a brief illness.
“He was recovering after taking proper treatment in the United Kingdom but relapsed a few days ago leading to multiple cardiac arrests for which he didn’t recover from.
“Further details and arrangements would be made known to the public after deliberations and meetings are made within the family.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ikonne, who hails from Agburuke Nsulu, Isialangwa North Local Government Area, was born on August 15, 1956.
He was married to Uzoamaka, the state solicitor-general and had two male children.
Ikonne, a professor of optometry, was appointed the seventh substantive vice chancellor of the Abia State University, Uturu, after serving as rector, Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.
Several attempts made to get Chikamnayo to comment on the incident were unsuccessful as he could not respond to calls put across to him.
The governorship election in Abia State is scheduled to hold on March 11.
