VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE SUN NEWSPAPER IS DEAD!

Mr. Dimgba igwe

The Sun Publishing Limited, publishers of The Sun titles has announced the sad passage of Mr Dimgba Igwe, who until yester­day was its Vice Chair­man. He was aged 58. The Managing Direc­tor/Editor-in-chief of The Sun Publishing Ltd, Mr Femi Adesina, in a statement said that the sad event occurred yes­terday, around 10 a.m. at the Lagos State Uni­versity Teaching Hospi­tal (LASUTH) of injuries suffered from a hit-and-run driver, as Igwe jogged in his Okota, La­gos, and neighborhood.

First aid was administered to him at St Raphael Hospi­tal, Ago Palace Way, before he was moved to LASUTH for surgical emergency. He did not survive.

Chairman and Publisher of The Sun Newspapers, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, described the development as “tragic, shocking, and a dark day in the annals of journalism in Nigeria.”

“Dimgba Igwe was too much of a gentleman, fine brain and mind to die tragi­cally like this,” he added.

Igwe and Mike Awoyinfa added verve to Nigerian journalism when they set up Weekend Concord in 1989. The duo pioneered The Sun Newspapers in 2003, with Awoyinfa as Managing Di­rector/Editor-in-Chief, and Igwe as Deputy Managing Director/Deputy Editor-in- Chief. Igwe was appointed Vice Chairman of the com­pany last year.

A committed Christian, Igwe was Deputy General Overseer of Evangel Pen­tecostal Church, Okota, Lagos.

A prolific author and columnist, he was a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. He is survived by a wife and four children.

Burial plans will be announced later.

Condolence registers have been opened at The Sun Publishing Limited headquarters in Lagos and the Abuja office.