Нигериялық саяхатшы Чимароке Ннамани

Nigerian politician

Chimaroke Nnamani ///audio=Ig Chimaroke Nnamani. ogg/(born 30 May 1960) is a medical doctor and Nigerian politician from Enugu State. He was elected Governor of Enugu State in the 1999 Enugu State gubernatorial election from 1999 to 2007. He subsequently served as a People's Democratic Party (PDP) Senator for Enugu East Senatorial District from 2007 to 2011 and was re elected in 2019.

Dr. Nnamani's first foray in national politics was his election as the National President of the Nigerian Medical Students' Association (NIMSA). He was elected Governor of Enugu State of Nigeria and re elected for a second term in the 2003 Enugu State gubernatorial election. His eight years tenure witnessed many groundbreaking projects including the sprawling new permanent campus of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital and College of Medicine at Parklane, Enugu, the Enugu Campus of the Nigerian Law School, the Ebeano Tunnel, dualization of Rangers Avenue and Chime Avenue, opening of a new route linking Nza Street and Chime Avenue in Enugu, the new State Judiciary headquarters, commencement of the construction of International Conference Centre project, the Enugu State Building in Abuja, amongst others. He was first elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing the Enugu East Senatorial District and served from 2007 to 2011. He re contested for the seat in the April 2011 elections, this time on the platform of the People for Democratic Change (PDC), but lost in controversial circumstances. He vied for the same seat again in the 2015 elections and was widely projected to win when, to the consternation of the populace, his main challenger was surprisingly declared as the winner, this time provoking spontaneous mass protests that rocked the capital city of Enugu for days.

Following overtures from the Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he returned to the party in 2017. Ahead of the 2019 general elections, he rested mounting speculations over his political future when he picked the senatorial nomination form of the party for Enugu East Senatorial District. At the senatorial primary election held on 2 October 2018 he polled 601 votes to easily beat six other contestants, amongst them the then incumbent Senator Gilbert Nnaji, who polled 69 votes. He soon embarked on a vigorous street to street campaign that enlivened Enugu metropolis as the people surged out to cheer him up. He also took his campaign to all the development centers in the 6 local government councils of the senatorial district as well as the major markets, reconfirming his reputation as a crowd puller. In the ensuing National Assembly elections of 23 February 2019, he won with a wide margin. Nnamani scored a total of 128,843 votes to trounce his closest rival, Prince Lawrence Ozoemeka Ezeh, who garnered 14,225 votes while Uchenna Agbo of APGA came third with 1,586 votes. Nnamani has repeatedly credited his smooth return journey to the Senate to the strong backing he received from the Governor of his state, Rt. Hon. Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (aka Gburugburu). He received his certificate of return as a senator elect from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on 14 March 2019 and assumed office on 11 June 2019 following the inauguration of the 9th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was subsequently appointed as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa/NEPAD and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, in addition to membership of the following Senate Committees: Health, Foreign Affairs, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Diaspora and NGOs, Land Transport as well as Women Affairs.

His academic honours include Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, D. Sc. (Honoris Causa), University of Nigeria; Distinguished Fellow of the Nigerian Law School, D. Sc (Honoris Causa), Babcock University, Illisan Remo, Ogun State, Adjunct Professor (Political Science), Babcock University, Illisan Remo, Ogun State, Honorary Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Ijanikan, Lagos, and Distinguished Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons. He is a Visiting Professor of Physiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT).