James Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo (born 9 May 1940) is a Nigerian businessman and politician who was governor of Anambra State (1979–1983) during the

Second Nigerian Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region ...

and was Senator for Enugu East Senatorial District in

Enugu State Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...

(1999–2003). In 2003, he ran unsuccessfully in the Nigerian Presidential elections.

Background

Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo was born on 9 May 1940 in Agyaragu,

Lafia Lafia is a city in Nigeria's North Central (Nigeria), North Central region. It is the capital and largest city of Nasarawa State, with a population of 509,300 inhabitants as of the 2021 census. And it's the Headquarter of Lafia Emirate Council. ...

Nassarawa State Nasarawa is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Benue and Kogi, and to the west by the Federal Capital Territo ...

. He completed his secondary school education in 1956 at Government School,

Awka Awka () is the capital city of Anambra State, Nigeria. The city was declared capital on 21 August 1991, on the creation of a new Anambra state and Enugu state by bifurcation of the old Anambra State. The city of Enugu remained the capital of Enu ...

in what is now Anambra State, then attended St. Peter's College,

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

(1956–1959). He went on to the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, first at

Enugu Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...

and then at

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

, and then attended the University College Ibadan (1961–1964), earning a BA in English. After graduation, Jim Nwobodo was employed as a tutor in the

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only boys as pupils, although prior to ...

(1964–1966). He then took a job in the Personnel department with the Shell Company of Nigeria (1966–1970). After the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

ended in 1970, he founded Link Group International, which grew to open branches in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...

Aba ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari, Cali and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language, as the Efik people dominate this area. The city is adjac ...

and

. He is also Chairman of Jimson International Al Cargo Agencies, Satellite Press Limited, and other companies. Nwodobo was also chairman of Nigerian football club

Enugu Rangers Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team founded in 1970. Based in Enugu, the Rangers play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one ...

around the time of their period of success in the 1970s and early 1980s. Nwobodo is married to Patricia (Pat), and they have two high school aged kids, Jim and Pat Jr.

Governor of Anambra State

Jim Nwobodo joined the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) and in October 1978, was elected NPP chairman for the old Anambra State. He contested the 1979 elections and on 1 October 1979 was sworn into office as the first executive Governor of Anambra State. As governor, Nwobodo established the Nike Lake hotel, Nike, Enugu; Anambra State television, Enugu; Anambra State University of Science and Technology (ASUT), Enugu; the Ikenga Hotels (with branches in Enugu, Onitsha, and Awka); the

Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium nicknamed ''The Cathedral'' is a multi-purpose stadium in Enugu, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Enugu Rangers. The stadium has a capacity of 22,000 and it was named a ...

, Enugu; Eha Amufu College of Education; and Nsugbe College of Education; among other projects. He also contributed to the founding of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU): the Awka campus of ASUT became the take-off ground of the NAU when it came into being in 1991. He ran for reelection in October 1983, but was defeated by Christian Onoh of the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigeri ...

(NPN). The election was marred by widespread intimidation, violence and vote-rigging.

Period of military rule

After the Military under General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

took control in December 1983, he was imprisoned for a period. When

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

came into power he was appointed a member of the constitutional commission. In 1995, he was appointed Minister of Youth and Sports. As the country moved towards democracy, he was a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP), the

United Nigeria Congress Party The United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) was a Nigerian political party. It was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, i ...

(UNCP) and later the

Grassroots Democratic Movement The Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) was a Nigerian political party that was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, ...

(GDM). He was a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Nigeria national football team, known as the

Super Eagles The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in Men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations ( AFCON) winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In Febr ...

, won the 1994

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

in Tunisia. The team members were each promised a 3-bedroom house as an award. On 27 December 1995, Jim Nwobodo wrote the team members that the Works & Housing Ministry had been directed to release the houses immediately. In July 2009, houses were made available in Lagos and Abuja.

Senator

In April 1999, Jim Nwobodo was elected Senator for the Enugu East constituency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the PDP platform, taking office in May 1999. He was appointed Chairman of the Senate Committee on Internal Affairs. In October 2002, there was a crisis when the Enugu State House of Assembly split into two factions, one of which wanted to impeach Abel Chukwu, the original speaker of the House, who was believed to be a loyalist of Governor

Chimaroke Nnamani Chimaroke Nnamani (; born 30 May 1960) 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 Peopl ...

. Nwobodo moved the motion that the Federal House of Representatives should take over the affairs of the House. During the 1998/1999 gubernatorial elections in Enugu State, Nwobodo had supported Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, who was elected. However, the two men fell out later. Nwobodo played a leading role in the unsuccessful effort to stop the 2003 re-election of Nnamani. Towards the end of his Senate term, he temporarily transferred to the United Nigeria People's Party (UNPP), running as a Presidential Candidate in the 2003 General elections. His partner as vice-presidential candidate was Mohammed Goni, former governor of

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

Later career

In 2008, Nwobodo headed an Action Committee on the South East to resolve factional struggles in the PDP in that area. In June 2009, the

Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is a statutory body established by NDIC Act No. 16 of 2006 with exclusive mandate of administering the Deposit Insurance System (DIS) in Nigeria. As one of the components of the nation's financial s ...

(NDIC) and the

Central Bank of Nigeria The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are t ...

(CBN) restored the license of the

Savannah Bank The Savannah Bank is a Nigerian bank whose license was withdrawn in February 2002 and restored in February 2009 after protracted legal battles. An investor, International Resource Associates of London, bought 67.35% of the shares of Savannah Bank ...

, in which Jim Nwobodo holds a major stake, in compliance with a February 2009 Appeal Court ruling in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwobodo, Jim 1940 births Living people Igbo people Igbo politicians Nigerian Anglicans Governors of Anambra State Nigerian People's Party politicians Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians United Nigeria Congress Party politicians Grassroots Democratic Movement politicians Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Senators of the 4th National Assembly (Nigeria) United Nigeria People's Party politicians University of Ibadan alumni People from Nasarawa State Candidates in the Nigerian general election, 2003