Nigerian billionaire and politician, Senator Arthur Nzeribe was pronounced dead by members of his family on Sunday.
Naija News earlier reported that the political maverick and businessman died on Saturday evening at age 83 after battling an undisclosed illness.
It is understood that Nzeribe, who was the longest-serving Senator from Imo, had been on life support for a while.
Below are some things to know about the late Nzeribe.
Nzeribe, who holds the traditional title of the Ogbuagu of Oguta, was born on November 2, 1938, to an influential family in Oguta, Imo state.
The multi-billionaire investment mogul attended Bishop Shanahan College, Orlu, and the Holy Ghost College, Owerri, before travelling to Lagos State in 1957.
The late Nzeribe got employment with the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) as an Engineering Cadet.
Nzeribe won an NPA scholarship and went on to study marine engineering at the Portsmouth College of Technology and Chesterfield College of Technology in England.
In the UK, Nzeribe first displayed his business acumen by selling life insurance schemes to black immigrants in the country at 22.
His father, Oyimba Nzeribe, was a lawyer and former state counsel, and his grandfather, Akpati Nzeribe, held the traditional title of Ogbuagu, Oshiji, Damanze Oyimba of Oguta.
Sadly, he lost his mother when he was a primary school pupil, while his father was away in Britain studying law, however, his care was taken over by Catholic priests who were involved in furthering his education.
In 1957, he travelled to Lagos where he obtained employment with Nigeria Port Authority as an engineering cadet, and a year later, he received a scholarship from the NPA to study marine engineering.
On June 10, 1993, Nzeribe tried to stop the election, relying on a court order that his group, Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), got from a midnight ruling from late Justice Bassey Ikpeme of Abuja High Court. ABN was known to be pro-Babangida.
Arthur Nzeribe was elected Senator for the Imo Orlu constituency in 1999 and was reelected in 2003.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News