Stella Omu Explained

Stella Omu
Office1:Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from Delta South Senatorial District
Term Start1:May 1999
Term End1:May 2003
Successor1:James Manager
Birth Date:22 December 1946
Nationality:Nigerian
Party:PDP
Spouse:Paul Omu
Children:6

Stella Unuezi Omu (born 22 December 1946) is a Nigerian politician who was elected Senator on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform in 1999 for the Delta South Senatorial District of Delta State.[1]

Background

Omu is of Isoko origin.[2] She was born on 22 December 1946.[3] Her husband is retired Major-General Paul Omu, formerly Military Governor of South-Eastern State, Nigeria.She is the mother of three daughters and three sons. She was an assistant Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, and retired from the civil service as Controller of the Prisons Service.[1] [4] She was a member of the committee on devolution of power constituent assembly (1994–95).[5]

Senate career

Omu was elected Senator on the People's Democratic Party platform in 1999 for the Delta South constituency.She was appointed chief whip of the Senate and vice-chairman of the Senate committees on National Planning and on Women Affairs & Youth Development.[1] [6] In May 2001, Omu denied allegations of financial impropriety against the Senate led by Anyim Pius Anyim, maintaining that they were unfounded and would have been discovered by auditors if real.[7] In November 2001, she received a letter containing a suspicious powdery substance, with the logo of the Federal Ministry of Communications. Other National Assembly members later received similar letters. This caused alarm as lawmakers suspected the substance to be anthrax, an agent of biological terrorism. Letters tainted with anthrax had recently been reported in United States after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.[8] In June 2002, after a supreme court ruled that the National Assembly did not have the power to make laws for the governance of the local governments, Omu started the process of amending the relevant provisions of the 1999 constitution.[9]

In August 2002, she was a target of attack by senators who distrusted her close relationship with President Obasanjo and her statement that the one-day election clause in the Electoral Bill 2002 might be reversed.[10] She resigned at the end of the month.[11] She ran for the PDP nomination for reelection in 2003, but lost to James Manager, a former Delta State commissioner for Works in the James Ibori cabinet.[12]

Later career

In June 2003, Omu called on the national Assembly to quickly pass the bill for the establishment of National Agency for the Social Welfare of Nigeria Citizens. While in office she had jointly sponsored the bill with Senators Omololu Meroyi and Lekan Salami.[13] In an August 2003 interview, she urged all the warring groups in Warri to lay down their arms, saying that Ijaws and Itsekiris are brothers and should not allow political differences or other socio-economic factors to separate them.[14] In December 2005, she was chair of a Presidential Committee investigating a jail break in Port Harcourt.[15] She also served as a member of the National Political Reform Conference in 2005.[16] In September 2008 she was a member of the Niger Delta Technical Committee.[17]

Omu was a member of a committee set up by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to review why the party lost the 2019 presidential election.[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PDP's Men of Power . Waheed Odusile, Ufot Essien, Kola Ologbondiyan, Oma Djebah and Chris Nwachuku . ThisDay . 2001-11-10 . 2010-02-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20051202191041/http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2001/11/10/20011110cov02.html . 2005-12-02 .
  2. Web site: Delta Senatorial Contest: The Actors, the Props . Eddy Odivwri . ThisDay . 2003-01-18 . 2010-02-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20041227035901/http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2003/01/18/20030118pol03.html . 2004-12-27 .
  3. Web site: For Omu, How Does Life Feel at 60? . https://web.archive.org/web/20060630013806/http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=40837 . 30 June 2006 . Sherrif Balogun . ThisDay . 2006-02-15 . 2010-02-27.
  4. Web site: Senate: United against the Siren . Chukwudi Nwabuko . ThisDay . 2001-02-23 . 2010-02-27 . 2002-11-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20021130040446/http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2001/03/23/20010323pol01.html . dead .
  5. Web site: Amazons on the March . Anne Damisa, Afia Okon, Chris Nwachuku, Yemi Shaba and Abiose Adelaja . ThisDay . 2001-11-24 . 2010-02-27.
  6. Web site: CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN OF SENATE COMMITTEES . Online Nigeria . 2010-02-27.
  7. Web site: No Fraud in the Senate - Omu . Kingsley Nwezeh . 2001-05-15 . ThisDay . 2010-02-27 . 2005-09-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050910194951/http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2001/05/15/20010515news11.html . dead .
  8. Web site: Anthrax Scare Rocks National Assembly . https://archive.today/20130116202159/http://allafrica.com/stories/200111300060.html . dead . 2013-01-16 . Bature Umar . Iyefu Adoba . amp . ThisDay . 2001-11-30 . 2010-02-27.
  9. Web site: Senator Omu Moves to Amend Constitution . Vanguard . Shoma Omagbemi . 18 June 2002 . 2010-02-27.
  10. Web site: What Hope As The Senate Battles Obasanjo? . Bature Umar . ThisDay . 2002-09-01 . 2010-02-27 . 2005-04-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050419162830/http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002/09/01/20020901cov05.html . dead .
  11. Web site: AAGM: I Resigned As Chief Whip to Preserve Democracy, Says Omu . Asia Africa Intelligence Wire . August 30, 2002 . Bature Umar . 2010-02-27.
  12. Web site: Stella Omu Loses PDP Senatorial Ticket . Vanguard . December 23, 2002 . 2010-02-27.
  13. Web site: Omu Tasks Senate On Social Welfare Agency Bill . ThisDay . Tokunbo Adedoja . 9 June 2003 . 2010-02-27.
  14. Web site: Warri Crisis, Threat to National Peace - Omu . Tokunbo Adedoja . ThisDay . 2003-08-25 . 2010-02-27 . 2005-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051204035454/http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2003/08/25/20030825pol01.html . dead .
  15. Web site: Jail Break: Alamieyeseigha Wants Drastic Overhaul . John Iwori . 8 December 2005 . ThisDay . 2010-02-27.
  16. Web site: 2010-10-27. I have unfinished business in the Senate, says Sen. Omu. 2021-05-08. Vanguard News. en-US.
  17. Web site: Niger Delta Technical Committee Members - Who Are They? . 5 September 2008 . ThisDay . Kalu Idika Kalu . 2010-02-27.
  18. Web site: 2021-02-02. South-east Govs Cost PDP 2019 Presidential Poll, Says Report. 2021-05-20. THISDAYLIVE. en-US.