Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and ex-national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party. PDP Chief Audu Ogbeh is dead.
A statement by the Ogbeh family on Saturday said the elder statesman died peacefully on Saturday at the age of 78.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Chief Audu Ogbeh.
“He passed away on the 9th of August 2025 at the fulfilled age of 78,” the statement read.
The family described Ogbeh as a man who “departed peacefully, leaving behind a legacy of integrity, service, and dedication to our nation and community.”
“We are comforted by the many lives he touched and the example he set,” the statement added.
It noted that details of the funeral arrangements would be announced in due course, while expressing gratitude to friends, colleagues, and well-wishers for their prayers and support.
“We will appreciate some privacy at this time while we mourn the loss of our patriarch,” the statement concluded.
Ogbeh was born in Otukpo, Benue State, and attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria before moving on to the University of Toulouse in France. He rose from teaching assistant to dean of the Language, Arts, and Social Sciences Department at Murtala College of Arts, Science, and Technology in 1977.
His public service career began in 1979, when he was elected to the Benue State House of Assembly and served as Deputy Speaker.
He was later appointed Federal Minister of Communications (1982-1983) and Minister of Steel Development in the Second Republic, but his time was cut short by the December 1983 coup.
Ogbeh returned to national service after spending time in agriculture, where he developed rice mills, a cashew plantation, debt community agricultural programmes, and a consultancy service.
He worked in the National Constitutional Conference Commission (1993) and the National Reconciliation Committee (1995).
Ogbeh, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, served as the party’s National Chairman from 2001 to 2005, famously taking a moral position against former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term attempt, which resulted in his resignation.
In his later years, Ogbeh was named Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (2015-2019) by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
A multidimensional scholar, he wrote several plays, including Epitaph of Simon Kisulu, which premiered at the Muson Centre in 2002.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
