Okwesilieze Nwodo

Who is Okwesilieze Nwodo?

Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo is a Nigerian politician who was elected Governor of Enugu State in January 1992 during the Nigerian Third Republic. Later he became a senior politician in the People's Democratic Party.

Nwodo studied medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Between 1977 and 1980 he was a house officer at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu and at the Military Hospital in Jos. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Surgeons, London and the Belgrade Medical School, Yugoslavia, gaining an MB.BS in Medicine and Surgery. He worked as a pediatric surgeon in Yugoslavia and then in Birmingham, England, before returning to Nigeria and taking a post as Medical Doctor at the Ukehe Medical Centre and Maternity.

Nwodo was elected Governor of Enugu State in January 1992 on the NRC platform during the Nigerian Third Republic. He held office until November 1993, when General Sani Abacha came to power in a military coup.

He was twice elected Secretary General of People's Democratic Party in 1999-2001. In October 2001 he was replaced by Vincent Ogbulafor as PDP party secretary. He fell out with Enugu State governor Chimaroke Nnamani in 2002. In December 2003 the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission announced that it was investigating Nwodo and others in connection with a multi-billion naira bribery scandal related to the National Identity Card Scheme.