BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock and sadness over the death of James Ocholi, minister of state for Labour and Productivity, his wife and son, in a ghastly accident on Sunday, March 6. Buhari, in a statement by issued by Garba Shehu, his spokesman, described the minister’s death as untimely, regretting that Nigeria has lost a key component of the change agenda.
“Barrister Ocholi was an accomplished and patriotic Nigerian, who was keen to accept the call to service at a time his country needed him,” President Buhari said, adding that in the few months he had been in office, the late minister had already begun to distinguish himself through his commitment and dedication to work.
The statement said the late Ocholi had a long record of political association with Buhari. The president also consoled with the government and people of Kogi State, whom he described as having lost a distinguished and irreplaceable son.
“The entire country mourns the loss of this great man, who has sadly left us when we need him most,” he said.
The statement added that Buhari had sent David Babachir, secretary to the government of the federation, to formally convey the news to members of the deceased family as well as parishioners in his place of worship.
Similarly, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, where the late Ocholi hails from, has expressed shock at the death.
Bello in a statement issued in Lokoja on Sunday, March 6, described the death of Ocholi as a monumental loss for the state and the country at large.
The late minister hailed from Ogbabede/Abocho in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi, and was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
“Late Ocholi was a pragmatic, dynamic, humane and brilliant law officer who was known around the world for his dexterous approach to legal and political issues and one of the most unswerving constitutional lawyers Nigeria has ever produced,’’ the governor said of the late minister.
The statement signed by Kingsley Fanwo, chief press secretary to the governor, recalled how Ocholi joined other progressive minded individuals around the country to drive the intellectual pillars of the APC.
While condoling members of his immediately family, political associates, friends, colleagues and the APC over his death, Bello said that the vacuum left behind by the deceased would be difficult to fill.
He prayed for the peaceful repose of Ocholi’s soul and urged all those he left behind to see his death as an act of God.
On his part, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State described the death of Ocholi, his wife and his son as shocking and sad.
In a statement signed by Peter Okhiria, his chief press secretary, Oshiomhole said: “His death is indeed a colossal loss to the nation, which he served devotedly to the end.
“I had several interactions with the late Minister and I found him to be a remarkably frank and patriotic Nigerian with a deep sense of commitment to the nation’s growth. He had a fervent passion to implement the Change agenda of Mr. President and worked assiduously to leave a lasting legacy in the Labour Ministry where he was Minister of State.”
The National Secretariat of the APC also said it received news of the death of Ocholi, his wife and his son with great shock and sadness.
Mai Mala Buni, national secretary of the APC, in a condolence message on Sunday, March 6, described death of the three family members as a monumental loss.
Buni said the late Ocholi, who was the party’s former deputy national legal adviser, would be remembered for his selfless service to Nigeria and Kogi State.
While extending his condolences to the people and government of Kogi State, the APC scribe prayed God to grant Ocholi’s immediate family the fortitude to bear the loss.
— Mar 7, 2016 @ 13:50 GMT
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