A former national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. Simon Chukwuemeka  Okolo is dead.

Family sources disclosed that Okolo died on Saturday April 6, during a brief illness.

He established the New Era Group of Companies Ltd made up of New Era Specialist Hospital Ltd Aba, with branches in Umuahia in Abia State, Nnewi in Anmabra State and other places and New Era Foods Ltd, an agro-allied industry located at Aba, which crushes palm kernel and refines its oil into edible vegetable oil.

A two-time president of Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA), chairman, Abia State chapter of Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Dr. Okolo rose through the ranks of the chamber movement in Nigeria to become the 48th national president of NACCIMA on October 29, 2008.

The late Dr., through ceaseless advocacy, intensified efforts to instill in the psyche of the ruling class that Nigeria can never industrialise if the rocky road to her industrialisation was not smoothened.

He worked to galvanize government action towards rebuilding Nigeria’s decayed infrastructure and put in place investment favourable policies and programmes to midwife Nigeria’s industrial take off.

To engender adequate security infrastructure and stem the rising tide in violent crimes in Nigeria, especially kidnapping, he successfully nudged and got the Jonathan administration’s promise to commence SIM card registration across the country by communication companies.

Okolo, who presided over the activities of the D-8 organisation for Economic Co-operation made up of countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey was also inaugurated as a member of the President Advisory Council (PAC) from 2010 to 2011 by former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

The deceased had a lot of merits ascribed to his name, he will be remembered by friends and family members.