The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) has been thrown into mourning, following the announcement of the death of one of the chamber’s staff, Chief Jude Igwe.
A statement by the ACCI president, Dr. Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, described the late ACCI vice president, industry, as an industrialist who made many contributions to the development of the chamber.
“The rude shock, unbelievable turn of fate and the eternal loss of a great colleague saddens and devastates all of us at the ACCI. The jovial leader of men and women is gone, leaving us all in awe of the supreme control of the Almighty over the lives of his creation. Our friend and partner has run his race and we can only pick up from where he left off.
“We remember his many contributions to the making and development of the ACCI. We put on record his indefatigable support for the elevation and progress of the chamber to the enviable status it has attained today. At every turn of the chamber’s growth and evolution, Jude was always at hand, offering the best of support and loyalty to the leadership,” the statement said in part.
The statement prayed God to grant the deceased eternal rest and support and give his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Similarly, a statement by the NEPZA managing director, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, described late Igwe’s death as a huge loss to the Nigerian manufacturing and industrial community.
The statement recalled the glorious contributions of the deceased to the Nigerian business and industrial community, noting that the late industrialist was a diligent businessman who grew in leaps and bounds from small beginnings to the enviable heights he reached before his untimely passage.
“Since we got together at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and for several investment drives outside the country, Chief Igwe always demonstrated persistence and commitment to building his businesses within the confines of the law and due process.
“As a chamber leader for several years, he was a major driver, an active leader and a team worker for the greater good of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the chamber movement in general. He was a detribalised Nigerian, open-hearted, supportive presence and mobiliser of human and material resources for the good of the chamber community.
“We will miss his constructive contributions in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. We have lost a dear friend, a true believer in Nigeria and an entrepreneur of no mean repute,” it added.
