Evan Enwerem (29 October 1935 – 2 August 2007) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as

President of the Nigerian Senate President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in 1999. He was a member of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

Early life

Evan Enwerem was born in

Ikeduru Ikeduru Local Government Area (LGA) is located in the western part of Imo State, in southern Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic o ...

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, on 29 October 1935. He obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Political career

Enwerem served as

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Nigerian Airports Authority NAA between 1980 and 1983. He was elected

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1991 during the failed Third Republic era of Nigerian

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. Enwerem was elected to the

Nigerian Senate The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

in 1999 to represent the Imo-East Senatorial Zone He became the first

during Nigeria's Fourth Republic. Enwerem beat his chief rival, Senator

Chuba Okadigbo Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo (17 December 1941 – 25 September 2003), was a Nigerians, Nigerian philosopher, academic, writer and political scientist. He served as President of the Senate of Nigeria, Senate president of Nigeria from 1999 to 20 ...

, for the Senate

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

on 3 June 1999. Former

Nigerian President The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Nigeri ...

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

backed Enwerem for President of the Senate against Okadigbo. With the support of the Obasanjo's allies in the governing parties, plus support from two Nigerian

opposition parties Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

, Enwerem easily defeated Okadigbo with 66 votes to Okadigbo's 43 votes. Enwerem did not hold the post of President of the Nigerian Senate for very long. A Nigerian Senate committee began investigating Enwerem for allegations of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

in 1999. The allegations against Enwerem alleged that he falsified his name, and caused a

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

as to whether Enwerem's actual real name was Evan or Evans. Enwerem was removed from office on 18 November 1999, in an ouster spearheaded by allies of

. However, though removed as President of the Senate, Enwerem remained a member of the Senate until 2003. Okadigbo, Enwerem's rival and successor as President of the Senate, was in turn removed from office on 8 August 2000. Following Okadigbo's 2000 ouster, Enwerem briefly expressed interest in again assuming the presidency of the Senate. However, Enwerem withdrew from the race in favor of Senator

Adolphus Wabara Adolphus Nduneweh Wabara (born 1 June 1948) is a Nigerian politician and diplomat who served as the 10th Senate President of Nigeria from 2003 to 2005. A pioneer member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Adolphus had previously been a me ...

at the shadow election conducted by PDP Senators in Senate Hearing Room One. Enwerem ultimately served as a Nigerian Senator from 1999 until 2003 before leaving office. According to news reports, Enwerem expressed an interest in "good laws" whose "ripple effects on the populace would be wide, sweeping and enduring."

Death

Enwerem had been in poor health before his death in 2007. He had been hospitalized at National Hospital in

Abuja, Nigeria Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

for some time. According to reports, Enwerem's family tried to make arrangements to transfer him to a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for medical treatment. The National Hospital initially refused his family's request, citing Enwerem's poor health. The National Hospital finally relented and released Enwerem to his family for transfer to Germany on 1 August. on a private air ambulance to Germany, the two German doctors who arrived in the air ambulance refused to allow Enwerem to board the

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

due to his "very critical" condition, that he was not strong enough to make the flight and rushed him back to the `national Hospital, Enwerem was readmitted to National Hospital the same day, and plugged into a ventilator machine. Enwerem died the next morning on 2 August 2007, at the National Hospital in Abuja at the age of 73. One of his children, Mr Evan Enwerem Jr, has been appointed as Transition Committee Chairman of Ikeduru LGA. The then President of the Senate,

David Mark David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark , is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and politician. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Benue South Senatorial District Benue State. He is a member of the ...

, learned of the news of Enwerem's death. Mark declined to formally announce the news to the Senate because most of Enwerem's family were out of the country at the time. The then

Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives The speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Federal House of Representatives of Nigeria, elected by its membership. The House Speaker is third in line of succession to the Nigerian Presidency, after the Vice Pre ...

, Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, issued a statement through her adviser, Funke Egbemode, saying that Enwerem's death "would leave a gaping hole in the nation's legislative history."

References

External links

AllAfrica.com: Enwerem - Exit of a Political Tactician
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enwerem, Evan Igbo politicians Presidents of the Senate (Nigeria) Governors of Imo State Alumni of the University of Southampton 1935 births 2007 deaths All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) 20th-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian politicians