Adinno Z Phizo, eldest daughter of Naga National Council (NNC) founder and president Angami Zapu Phizo, passed away on Thursday at Bethel Hospital, Kohima. She was the president of the NNC and had continued to uphold the organisation’s original political position.
Adinno assumed leadership of the NNC following the death of her father in London on April 30, 1990. Within hours of his death, she was appointed Acting President at the NNC office in London by senior Executive Council members Khodao Yanthan and Yongkong.
She was formally elected NNC president by the people at a general meeting held at Kohima Village Hall on May 12, 1990. Her leadership was subsequently reaffirmed at the NNC General Meeting held at Longmisa Village on March 14 and 15, 1991, where more than 6,000 Nagas reportedly attended and political plenipotentiary power was conferred on her by Zashei Huire, President of the Federal Government of Nagaland.
She later headed the NNC (Adinno) faction and consistently maintained the organisation’s original political stand. She regarded the Naga Plebiscite of May 16, 1951, in which the NNC has maintained that 99.9 per cent of Nagas voted for independence, as the mandate of the Naga people and advocated the right to self-determination and sovereign recognition.
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Adinno spent several decades in exile in London alongside her father. She returned to Nagaland on significant occasions, including accompanying the mortal remains of her father from London to Kohima in 1990 and later those of her brother, Kevilevor Phizo.
She also continued to participate in major historical observances, including the Death Anniversary and Plebiscite Day programmes held at Phizo Memorial, Kohima.
Meanwhile, the Kudawhi Union Dimapur (KUD) expressed profound sorrow over her passing, describing her as a prominent figure in the political history of the Naga people and a former president of the NNC.
In a condolence message, KUD president K James Vizo said Adinno’s public engagement and steadfast commitment to the political aspirations and identity of the Naga people constituted an important part of Naga political history.
The Union acknowledged her contribution and the place she held in the collective memory of the Naga people and extended condolences to her bereaved family, relatives, colleagues and all those mourning her death.
The KUD also prayed that the Almighty grant strength, comfort and fortitude to the bereaved to bear the loss.
