Anthony Akhakon "Tony" Anenih (4 August 1933 – 28 October 2018) was a Nigerian politician who was Minister of Works and Housing in 1999.

Early life

Anenih was born in Uzenema-Arue,

Uromi Uromi is a town in northeastern Esan, an ethnic group in Central Edo state, Nigeria. At various points in Uromi's history, the town and people have been known for their resilience and strength. The people of Uromi, led by Agba N'Ojie resisted ...

, in 1933. He joined the

Nigeria Police Force The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. It was designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria, with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country. As at 2021, i ...

in Benin City. Studying from home, he obtained secondary school qualifications. He attended the police college in Ikeja, and was selected for further training in the

Bramshill Police College The Police Staff College, Bramshill, Bramshill House, Bramshill, (near Hook) Hampshire, England, was until 2015 the principal police staff training establishment in England and Wales. History The need for a training college for the police was ...

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1966 and the

International Police Academy The Office of Public Safety (OPS) was a U.S. government program within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that provided training, assistance and equipment to the security forces of U.S. allies. The program commenced in ...

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

in 1970. He later served as a police orderly to the first Governor General of Nigeria, Dr.

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 ...

. He worked as an instructor in various police colleges, and in 1975 was assigned to the

Administrative Staff College Henley Business School is a business school which is affiliated with the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College (formerly the Administrative Staff College) with the existing business ...

(ASCON), Lagos. He retired from the police as a Commissioner of police.

Early political career

Anenih was State Chairman of the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigeri ...

(NPN) between 1981 and 1983, helping Dr.

Samuel Ogbemudia Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia (17 September 1932 – 9 March 2017) was a Nigerian army officer and politician. He was military Governor (1967–1975) of the Mid-West State, later renamed Bendel State, part of which in turn later became Edo State. ...

become elected as civilian Governor of

Bendel State The Mid-Western Region was a division of Nigeria from 1963 to 1991, from 1976 being known as the Bendel state. It was formed in June 1963 from Benin and Delta provinces of the Western Region, and its capital was Benin City. It was renamed a pro ...

. However, the governorship was cut short by the military takeover of December 1983. He was National Chairman of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

from 1992 to 1993, when he assisted in the election of Chief

M. K. O. Abiola Chieftain, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , also known as M. K. O. Abiola (; 24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian business magnate, publisher, and politician. He was the honorary supreme military commander of the Oyo Empire an ...

as president. He was a member of the Constitutional Conference in 1994. Anenih was a member of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM),

United Nigeria Congress Party The United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) was a Nigerian political party. It was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, i ...

(UNCP) and People's Democratic Party (PDP). Anenih was said to have masterminded the 26 April 2002 declaration of President Obasanjo at the International Conference center Abuja. He was deputy national coordinator of

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

's campaign Organisation in the 1999 and 2003 elections.

Minister of Works and Housing

Chief Anenih was appointed Minister of Works and Housing in 1999. He subsequently became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP.

Controversies

In October 2009, a senate committee issued a report on their investigation into the use of more than N300 billion in the transport sector during the Obasanjo administration. The committee recommended prosecution of thirteen former Ministers, including Anenih, saying he had awarded contracts without budgetary provision. In November 2009, the Senate indefinitely shelved consideration of the report. In October 2009, the

Central Bank of Nigeria The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are t ...

released a list of customers with major debt to five recently audited banks. It reported that, through Mettle Energy and Gas limited, Chief Tony Anenih and Osahon Asemota owed N2.06 billion. Anenih said he had nothing to do with Mettle Energy and Gas Limited, and said he had written to the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement and anti-graft agency that investigates financial crimes and unknown transactions such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was establ ...

(EFCC) Chairman,

Farida Waziri Farida Mzamber Waziri (born 7 July 1949) is a Nigerian technocrat, law enforcement officer and former executive chairperson of the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). She succeeded Nuhu Ribadu in this post. Background Waz ...

, urging the commission to investigate the matter.

Personal life

Anenih was married to

Josephine Anenih Iyom Josephine Anenih (born 6 July 1948) is a Nigerian politician who was appointed Minister of Women Affairs on 6 April 2010, when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced his new cabinet. Biography Born in Sokoto (city), Sokoto in 1948, s ...

, a lawyer, who was the chairperson of the Federation of Women Lawyers from 1994 to 2000. She was appointed minister of Women Affairs on 6 April 2010, when Acting President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...

announced his new cabinet.

Death

Anenih died on 28 October 2018 at age 85, and was buried in his hometown in Uromi. His burial was attended by many influential people in the country. Until his death, he was the ''Iyasele'' of Esanland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anenih, Anthony Akhakon 1933 births 2018 deaths Nigerian Roman Catholics National Party of Nigeria politicians Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Federal ministers of Nigeria People from Edo State Edo writers