By INALEGWU SHAIBU

ABUJA-THE immediate former National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP and Second Republic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, is dead, aged 76. He died of yet undisclosed ailment while receiving treatment in India Tuesday.

ANPP’s national publicity secretary, Mr. Emma Eneukwu, who confirmed the death in an interview  said the party was, however, yet to make an official statement concerning the development as it preferred to wait for more details from the family.

Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke was a one time member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on the ticket of the defunct National Peoples Party, NPP, following the consummation of the accord between the NPP and the National Party of Nigeria, NPN.

He was was elected National Chairman in the 2006 National convention of the party held in Abuja, when he pulled a total of 3,998 votes against his rival, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), who had only 1,841 votes. He was also the running mate of Major General Mohammed Buhari in the 2007 presidential election in which the ANPP lost to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the PDP.