Rename Aso Rock, Not UNN After Queen Elizabeth, Ohaneze Urges F.G

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has asked the federal government to rename the presidential villa in Abuja after Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at 96 years old.

In a statement signed by Okechukwu Isiguzoro, its secretary-general, the group said the south-east zone already has a symbol of respect for the late monarch as seen in the Queen Elizabeth Medical Center, Umuahia, Abia state.

Isiguzoro said it is “appropriate” for the northern region to have a “fair share” of the legacies of the monarch.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has cautioned the Federal Government against renaming the foremost and most prestigious university, the University of Nigeria Nsukka after the late British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as it has already bequeathed a legacy in southeastern Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“If the Nigerian government and the presidency wish to immortalize late Britain’s Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, they should look at the role of the Queen in granting Nigeria political freedom and Independence on 1st October 1960, so the most appropriate place to show gratitude to Great Britain Monarch should be the citadel of power.

“The federal government should rename the Aso Rock presidential state house and residence after Queen Elizabeth II. This is the best place to honour Queen Elizabeth II, not the University of Nigeria Nsukka, because it’s incendiary to destroy the symbol of Nigeria’s citadel of learning”, the statement added.