NIGERIAN senator and businessman Ifeanyi Ubah is dead.
The late lawmaker, aged 52, represented Anambra South, and was said to have passed on in London.
Details of his death were still sketchy as of the time of filing of this report.
Ubah, through his campaign council, had recently donated N71 million to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State, bolstering the party’s presence and strength in the South-East region.
A statement by his special adviser, media and strategic communications, Kamen Chuks Ogbonna, indicated that the donation was part of efforts to redeem the senator’s pledge towards enhancing the party’s effectiveness In the state.
His political career
In 2014, Ifeanyi Ubah lost at the 2014 Anambra State gubernatorial election under the Labour Party platform.
He was, however, elected as Senator in 2019 on the Young Progressive Party (YPP) platform and was re-elected in 2023.
Ubah later defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier this year, and has expressed interest in running for the governorship of Anambra State in next year’s election, positioning himself as a leading frontrunner.
The deceased had previously contested the 2021 Anambra governorship election, coming fourth in a race won by the incumbent Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
In September 2022, Ubah narrowly escaped assassination when gunmen attacked his convoy on the way to Nnewi in Enugwu-Ukwu, Anambra State.
His attackers opened fire on the convoy, which resulted in the deaths of at least five people, including two policemen and his aides, while he survived the attack, thanks to his bulletproof vehicle.
Personal life
Ubah was born in Otolo, Nnewi on the 3rd of September, 1971 to Alphonsus Ubah and Patty Ubah. He was the first son of seven children in his family.
Ubah was married to Uchenna, a Business Administration graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The couple had five children.
The deceased attended Okongwu Memorial Grammar School, Nnewi, Anambra State, before heading to Premier Academy, Lugbe, Abuja, where he dropped out because his parents couldn’t afford his academic and material needs.
Ubah later bagged a degree in Law from Baze University, Abuja.
Business Life
He was an entrepreneur and businessman who served as the CEO of Capital Oil (CCO), a company he founded in 2001, until his death.
Ubah also established a foundation named after himself, the Ifeanyi Ubah Foundation.
He founded the Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), previously known as Gabros International Football Club.
The late lawmaker started his business as an exporter of motor tyres and parts in West African nations like Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo before extending to Belgium and the UK.
In, 2015, he founded the Authority Newspaper, with the platform covering both domestic and foreign news.
Corruption allegations
In 2019, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja removed Ubah from the Senate after founding him of certificate forgery. The lawsuit was filed by Obinna Uzoh, the runner-up of the election that brought the accused to the Senate.
Uzoh was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
However, the Court of Appeal voided the judgment that sacked Ubah as the lawmaker representing Anambra South Senatorial District.
The court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of justices, led by Stephen Adah, held the ruling was based on incompetent court processes.
Similarly, the Federal High Court in Lagos struck out a charge brought by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) against Ubah and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Limited, over an alleged N135 billion debt.
The charge was struck out just six days after Ubah announced his defection from the Young Progressive Party to the ruling APC.
Ubah said his defection was due to the insurmountable disagreements within his party – the YPP.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M