Dimapur, October 9 (MExN): Nagaland Chief Minister Dr Neiphiu Rio on Friday expressed grief over the death of Adinno Phizo, president of NNC and eldest child of the late Naga leader A Z Phizo.
“Adinno Phizo’s place in Naga political history will remain significant,” the CM said in a condolence message.
Recollecting her as a figure who “personally witnessed and participated in several decades of the Naga political journey,” the CM said her death was not only the loss of a member of the Phizo family but also the passing of an important figure from “a generation whose lives were shaped by the Naga political struggle.”
Dr Rio said she stood alongside her father during the difficult years of the Naga political movement and later led the NNC, devoting her entire life to preserving and carrying forward a political legacy she deeply believed in. “She dedicated her life to the Naga cause and remained steadfast in her commitment to the aspirations and welfare of the Naga people,” he said.
For more than three decades after her father’s death in 1990, Adinno served as NNC president and remained a prominent voice representing the organisation’s historical position, Dr Rio noted. He said her years in London, her eventual return to Nagaland and her continued engagement with the Naga political issue reflected “a life marked by commitment, sacrifice and perseverance.”
Recalling his association with the family, the CM said he first met her at the Phizo residence in Bromley, London, in 1990, along with his wife. He said the meeting remained memorable over the years. After she returned to Nagaland, he met her on several occasions and witnessed her deep attachment to the Naga people and her convictions.
The CM added that his association with the Phizo family also extends through family ties by marriage.
Acknowledging differing views on the political questions that have shaped Naga history, he said, “the contributions and sacrifices of those who have devoted their lives to the Naga people deserve to be remembered with dignity and respect.”
On behalf of the state government and his cabinet colleagues, Rio conveyed condolences to the Phizo family, the NNC and all those mourning her death.
“May the Almighty grant strength and comfort to the bereaved family and all who are grieving at this difficult hour. May her soul rest in eternal peace,” he said.
