The Forum of Foreign Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has said it mourns the passing on of Mr. Lawrence Ukwu, a.k.a. LU, former United Nations Correspondent of NAN in New York, whose sad event occurred on July 21, in Abuja.
According to a press statement, signed by Dr. Bisi Olawunmi, on behalf of Forum, he was one of the agency’s three pioneer foreign correspondents sent on foreign posting in 1981. The other two pioneers are Malam Wada Maida, publisher of Abuja-based Peoples Daily newspaper and Mr. Adewale Fatona, a political office holder in Abuja.
Mr. Ukwu took an early retirement from NAN on returning from New York but had remained active in the media. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Banking and Finance for Africa magazine and established Benneen & Tokel Consultants, which consulted, among others, for both the World Bank and the African Development Bank. His latest venture was the Easterner Magazine, set up to chronicle events in states in the former Eastern region.
“Mr. Ukwu’s death is a big loss to news agency journalism and the media in general. Mr. Ukwu served meritoriously for the three years he was at the United Nations.
“With his burial at his hometown, Asaga village, Arochukwu, Abia state, slated for August 30, 2014, we, former Foreign Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria commiserate with the family members of our departed colleague and pray god to give them the fortitude to bear the loss”, the Forum stated.
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