President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his condolences to the Anenih family on the death of its patriarch, Chief Anthony Anenih.
The President who also commiserated with the government and people of Edo State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the late Anenih as a frontline figure in the annals of the country’s political history.
President Buhari affirmed that across the political spectrum of Nigeria, Chief Anenih was known for his strong views on issues pertaining to the unity and stability of the nation.
He prayed for the repose of his soul and also asked that God grants the family the fortitude to bear the loss.
Anenih died on Sunday at the age of 85.
Reacting to the death of its former chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, the Peoples Democratic Party said the man they fondly called Mr. Fix It lived a fulfilled life, expressing regrets that his death had robbed the party and the nation of “an experienced man whose love for the country was beyond description.”
The National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, who spoke with The Punch on the telephone, said that the nation would miss the late politician.
The newspaper quoted him as saying, “His death came to me as a rude shock. Though he was advanced in age, as human beings, we wanted him to be around us for a longer period.
“This is because we loved him. He was a nationalist who wanted the best for the country. We would miss him. We pray to God almighty to grant him eternal peace.”
Secondus said that the PDP would immortalise him.
Born on August 4, 1933 in Uzenema-Arue in Uromi, Anenih joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1951 in Benin City.
He attended the Police College in Ikeja, and was selected for further training in the Bramshill Police College, Basingstoke, England, in 1966; and the International Police Academy, Washington DC in 1970.
He served as a Police orderly to the first Governor General of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.
He worked as an instructor in various Police colleges, and in 1975 was assigned to the Administrative Staff College, Lagos. He retired from the Police as a Commissioner, after which he joined politics.
