The late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, along with his wife, Blessing, and son, Joshua were on Friday buried in Abocho in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State .
Their burial comes 12 days after their tragic deaths in a car crash along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, which shocked the nation and the All Progressives Congress-led government that described him as a key component of the change agenda.
Thousands, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who led the Federal Government’s delegation, gathered for the burial, which followed an open-air mass.
The late Ocholis’ final journey home began from Abuja on Thursday morning.
The ambulances conveying the corpses made a stop in Lokoja for a valedictory session organised by the Kogi State Chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association, before proceeding to Abocho where wailing relatives awaited.
Osinbajo (SAN), who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the occasion, described the late Ocholi as one of his right hand men in the quest to reposition the country and fashion a land of peace and prosperity, where no one is oppressed.
President Buhari noted that among many other positive and pleasant things, he would always remember Ocholi for his “loyalty to our beloved country Nigeria, loyalty to their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and loyalty to his administration, in which he had served for just about four months, before death took him”.
He mentioned that he believed so much in him and in his ability to add value to the governance of his state that he followed him round the state on campaign.
He added that mattered to Ocholi was the birth of a strong and solid party, which could wrest power at the centre and bring change to the country.
Said the president: “He was part of the change cabinet resolved to bringing our country out of the woods and position Nigeria among the greats in the comity of nations.”
Also speaking, the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, in his tribute noted that the late James Ocholi grabbed life by the jugular and squeezed his due from its clenched first.
He said: “James started succeeding early, and by his achievements drafted an airtight brief on how to live life well – with urgency, making massive impact as one goes. Everyone from the President and Commander-in-Chief, to the lowliest beneficiaries of his greatness in Dekina, to many other places known and unknown are mourning him today.
“His manner, demeanour and way of speaking readily showed his depth of character, intelligence and breeding. He proved himself a brilliant, honest and most respectable legal practitioner.”
Speaking on behalf of the children, Barr. Aaron Ocholi said they would miss their father, mother and his brother, Joshua greatly.
He said that his father was passionately hard-working, with a large heart, and was his role model and mentor, as he taught him even from his mistakes.
Other notable Nigerians at the burial included Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, Kogi deputy governor, Simon Achuba, Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, immediate past governor of Kogi State, Capt. Idris Wada, Sen. Dino Melaye, Sen. Alex Kadiri, former minister of police affairs, Humphrey Abah, Justice Tom Yakubu of the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, Kogi State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), John Ibenu, clergy and traditional rulers.
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