A former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ajaokuta Steel Company, Ajaokuta, Kogi State, High Chief (Professor) Philip Nwabueze Chinedu Atanmo, has passed on, at the age of 86.
Prof. Atanmo, who was appointed in 1993 by the defunct General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida administration, had equally served as the General-Manager (Technical Services) at the Delta Steel Company, Aladja.
He was later appointed as Pro-Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, adjunct Professor at Anambra State University where he served as Dean, Faculty of Engineering and lecturer Faculty of Engineering, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State.
According to his son, Engr. Chinedu Atanmo (Jnr), the late sage attended St. Philip Primary School, Akpogwe, Ogidi, Anambra State and Denis Memorial Grammar School (DMGS) Onitsha before proceeding to University of Connecticut, United States of America where he obtained Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Electrical and Metallurgical Engineering with Distinction, before obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Metallurgical Engineering from Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
A prolific engineer and scholar, Professor Atanmo held three (3) US patents and authored over 100 technical publications in his lifetime.
After his retirement from the Ajaokuta Steel Company, he was elected a member of the Constitutional Conference in 1997 during the late General Sani Abacha’s administration.
He was later to become the Vice President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Anambra State Chapter.
Professor Atanmo died March 21, 2026 of cardio-plumunary arrest, according to a death certificate issued by Dame Irene Memorial Hospital, Irefi Oraifite, Anambra State.
He will be buried on Saturday June 6, 2026 in his country home, opposite St. Philip’s Anglican Church, Akpakogwe, Ogidi, Idemili-North Local Government Area, Anambra State.
