By Peter Omopo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed deep shock and sadness over the death of former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, describing him as a peace-loving patriot and committed democrat.
Ogbeh, who also served as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), died on Saturday. Obasanjo, currently in Uganda, said in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, that the late politician’s career spanned from the military era into the present democratic dispensation.
“He was Deputy Speaker of the Plateau House of Assembly in the 1970s, Minister of Communications from 1982 to 1983, PDP National Chairman from 2001 to 2005, and Minister of Agriculture and Food Security from 2015 to 2019,” Obasanjo noted, adding that Ogbeh’s record reflected his faith in participatory politics.
The former president praised Ogbeh for building an impressive profile of goodwill and affection as a frontline politician and community leader, saying his contributions to democracy and governance in Nigeria would be difficult to replace.
“Chief Audu Ogbeh will be missed for his unwavering commitment to politics, governance, and democracy,” Obasanjo said. “May God console his wife and the entire family, and may his soul rest in perfect peace.”
