Guwahati: Adinno Z. Phizo, president of the Naga National Council (NNC) and eldest daughter of NNC leader Angami Zapu Phizo, passed away at a private hospital in Kohima on Thursday evening. She was 93.
According to a notification issued by the NNC and the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), Adinno died peacefully at around 8 pm on October 8 following a brief illness.
The NNC and FGN said she had continued to shoulder the responsibilities entrusted to her in the Naga national struggle and remained committed to the political institution and aspirations of the Naga people until her death.
Adinno assumed leadership of the NNC following the death of her father in London on April 30, 1990. Senior executive council members Khodao Yanthan and Yongkong appointed her acting president at the NNC office in London. She was formally elected president at a general meeting held at Kohima Village Hall on May 12, 1990.
As NNC president, Adinno maintained the organisation’s original political position, upholding the Naga Plebiscite held on May 16, 1951, which the NNC maintains saw 99.9% of Nagas vote for independence. She continued to assert the Naga people’s right to self-determination and sovereign recognition.
The NNC and FGN expressed condolences to her bereaved family and said they were attending to the necessary arrangements. Further official information on the period of mourning, funeral arrangements and related matters would be communicated in due course, the organisations said.
They also called upon the Naga people to observe the period of national mourning with peace, dignity, restraint and unity.
According to reports, her funeral service is scheduled for October 10, and her body will be taken to her native village of Khonoma.