A member of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Mr John Abah, has died.
The deceased, according to Ahmed Omiattah, the Kogi East Zonal Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), died on Wednesday at an undisclosed private hospital in Abuja.
The deceased represented Ibaji Constituency in the 7th assembly where he was serving a second term.
“We regret to announce the demise of Hon John Abah, member representing Ibaji constituency at the Kogi State House of Assembly.
“I wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the good people of Ibaji and the immediate family of the deceased,” the zonal chairman said in a statement in Lokoja.
It was learnt that the late lawmaker had been on and off the hospital over a lingering but undisclosed ailment before his eventual demise.
Abah, a chattered accountant from Ejule-Ojebe in Ibaji Local Government Area of the state veered into politics and won the Ibaji State Constituency seat in 2015 into the state House of Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He, however, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) shortly before the March, 2019 State Assembly Election and clinched the ticket for a second term.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Matthew Kolawole, has described the death of Abah as shocking.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Femi Olugbemi, the speaker expressed sadness over the death of the member.
He described his death at this time as a monumental loss to the 7th assembly considering his robust contributions on the floor of the House.
Kolawole sympathized with the immediate family and the people of Ibaji State Constituency over the demise of their father, illustrious son and outstanding representative, noting that he would be greatly missed.
He said it was very sad and painful to lose a bread winner of a family, stressing that his demise had created a great vacuum that will be hard to fill.
He noted that death was an expected end of every mortal, enjoining his family to take solace in the words of God which say “everything under the sun have time, a time to be born, and time to die.”
“Rt. Hon. Prince Matthew Kolawole, on behalf of the 7th Assembly, management and staff of the Kogi State House of Assembly, wish to commiserate with the immediate family of Hon. John Abbah, the government and people of Ibaji Local Government Area on the death of their illustrious son and father, praying that God will grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” the statement noted.
