Buhari Mourns as Ocholi, wife, son die in Kaduna road accident.
The Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Mr. James Ocholi, his son and wife were Sunday killed 57 kilometers away from Kaduna after a rear tyre of the Jeep they were driving in had a rear bust, skidded off, and somersaulted several times into the bush, the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC said.
Kaduna State Sector Commander, of FRSC, Francis Udoma who made this known in a telephone chat in Kaduna said the Minister and his son died on the spot while the wife was rushed to the nearest Hospital, Doka General Hospital, about 15 kilomoters away from the accident scene where she also died.
Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State has expressed his grieve and condolence.
Udoma said: “The rear tyre bust and the vehicle, somersaulted into the bush. The minister and his son died on the spot, the wife died in the government hospital in Doka, Kaduna.
“His driver, the Chief Detail, the Orderly and the P.A (Personal Assistant) were injured and are receiving treatment” Udoma said.
President Muhammadu Buhari on his part expressed shock and sadness over the death of the Minister of State for Labour, Barrister James Ocholi ,SAN,.
In a statement by Garba Shehu, the presidential spokesman, President Buhari described Ocholi’s death as untimely, regretting that Nigeria has lost a key component of the change agenda.
He described the deceased as an accomplished and patriotic Nigerian.
“Barrister Ocholi was an accomplished and patriotic Nigerian, who was keen to accept the call to service at a time his country needed him,” he said.
Buhari also extended his condolences to the government and people of Kogi State.
Similarly, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi expressed shock over the sudden death of the Minister of State for Labour, Mr James Ocholi, in a car crash.
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Bello issued a statement in Lokoja on Sunday describing the death of Ocholi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), 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 state.
“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.
The statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kingsley Fanwo, recalled how the late minister joined other progressive minded individuals around the country to drive the intellectual pillars of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to the statement, the governor regretted that Ocholi would surely be missed by all.
While condoling members of his immediately family, political associates, friends, colleagues and 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. Also reacting, the state Treasurer of the APC, Mr. Ismail Adesayo, described Ocholi’s death as very unfortunate.
He described the late minister as a fine leader who meant well for the people and development of Kogi state and Nigeria.
Adesayo lamented that Ocholi died when his service was most needed in the state, praying to God to grant him eternal rest and the family the fortitude to bear irreparable loss.
He also prayed to God to have mercy on the state by putting a stop to sudden deaths of political headlights in the state.
Ocholi was a governorship aspirant in PDP but later defected to the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) where he became the party’s governorship candidate in the Dec. 3, 2011, governorship election in the state.
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