Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, yesterday, swore-in Super Eagles’ former midfielder, Karibe Ojigwe, as the state’s new commissioner for sports. Ojigwe was one of the 27 commissioners that took the oath of office in Umuahia.
While swearing in the 44-year-old Ojigwe and his colleagues, Ikpeazu said the new commissioners were selected to support and better the lives of Abia State residents.
He advised the commissioners to see their appointment as a call of duty while warning that anyone thinking of taking advantage of the position for personal benefit would be “disappointed”.
The ceremony followed after the screening and confirmation of the commissioner-nominees by the state’s House of Assembly. Ojigwe from Item, Bende Local Council, was born in Aba on December 11, 1976.
A member of the FIFA U-17 World Cup winning team assembled by Coach Fanny Amun in 1993, Ojigwe began his career with Enyimba before moving to Europe after the FIFA cadet tournament in Japan.
He joined FC Kaiserslautern of Germany in 1995 before moving to Koln FC on loan in the 1999/2000 season. After a return of form with the Bundesliga 2 side, Ojigwe refused to return to his parent club and instead moved to Champions League participant Bayer 04 Leverkusen for a transfer fee of about €1.75 million.
At Leverkusen, he was part of the squad that narrowly lost the 2001/2002 UEFA Champions League final to Real Madrid in Glasgow. At senior international level, Ojigwe, who made 17 appearances for the Super Eagles, featured at the Mali 2002 African Cup of Nations in which Nigeria won the bronze medal.
