Okechukwu Uwaezuoke
Former President of the Art Galleries Association of Nigeria (AGAN) Chief Francis Chukwuma is dead. He died yesterday morning in London after a brief illness. Until his death, he was the proprietor of Nkem Gallery, Lekki, Lagos.
Under his tenure as the AGAN president, the association collaborated with the National Gallery of Art to hold an International Art Expo in Lagos in celebration of Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary.
Prior to his retirement from the Federal Ministry of Information as Deputy Director in 1999, Chief Okonta once served as a member of the VISION 20:10 team under the late General Sani Abacha regime. He also served the Secretary-Generalof the Nigeria Olympic Committee, President of Cycling Federation of Nigeria, the chairman of the Nigeria Boxing Association and Special Assistant to the former Minister of Information, Senator Uche Chukwumerije.
Born on August 3, 1939 in Ibusa, DeltaState, he was raised in the northern part of Nigeria and attended St. John’s College, Kaduna, a school which many of the country’s military top brass attended.
He joined the Federal Civil Service at 43 in 1982 during the administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari and retired 17 years after.
He was aged 80.
