President Muhammadu Buhari has described the death of Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi, on Sunday as untimely, regretting that Nigeria has lost a key component of the change agenda.
Buhari, who expressed shock and sadness at the death the Minister, his wife and son in a car crash, said Ocholi was “an accomplished and patriotic Nigerian, who was keen to accept the call to service at a time his country needed him.”
The President, in a statement issued Sunday in Abuja by his media aide, Garba Shehu, said that in the few months the deceased had been in office, he had already begun to distinguish himself through his commitment and dedication to his portfolio.
Buhari said the late Ocholi has had a long record of political association with him.
He consoled with the government and people of Kogi State, whom he described as having lost a distinguished and irreplaceable son. He prayed that God would comfort them and grant them the grace to bear the loss.
The President said, “The entire country mourns the loss of this great man, who has sadly left us when we need him most.”
He directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engineer David Babachir to formally convey the news to members of the deceased family as well as parishioners in his place of worship.
