A 92-year-old newspaper vendor, Pa Ephraim Obinedu, got more thanhe looked forward to on Friday, when he was recognised as the oldest Nigerian by the Anambra chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), when they bestowed on him the Vendor Award at their award night.
Pa Obinedu instantly became a celebrity, as eminent personalities jostled to take photographs with him.
Obinedu told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that he started vending newspapers in 1942 and had been in the business for a cumulative period of 69 years, and had seen several must-read publications, including the late Nnamdi Azikiwe’s West African Pilot.
Chairman of the union in the state, Mrs. Tochukwu Omelu, who doubled as the chairman of the organising committee for the press week, stated that the reason for the award was to honour Pa Obinedu for his efforts at making products(newspapers) of the journalists available to the public.
Chief Victor Umeh who was also an award recipient kick-started the campaign for Obinedu’s retirement when he announced the need for a retirement fund, by donating the sum of N100,000.
Senator Ben Ndy Obi, special adviser to the president on inter-party matters announced a donation of N200,000 to the retirement fund which he said would be managed by the trio of the Catholic church, Anglican church and the NUJ. In the end, Pa Obinedu was richer by N1.5m in cash donation, besides pledges.