By Oyibo Salihu
Lokoja
Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has promised to immortalise the late Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Barrister James Ocholi, who died in an auto crash recently.
Bello also assured that his administration would leave no stone unturned in taking good care of the children the late Ocholi left behind.
The governor disclosed this during a special valedictory court session held in honour of Ocholi who died along with his wife, Mrs. Blessing Fatimah Ocholi, and son, Mr. Joshua Ocholi, in a ghastly motor accident on his way from Kaduna to Abuja two weeks ago.
Bello, who charged the people of the state not to allow grief to becloud the legacies the late minister left behind, called on them to imbibe the honest and simple lifestyle the deceased lived.
The state Chief Judge, Justice Nasiru Ajanah, said he knew the late minister way back in 1991 as young lawyer who had shown dedication, tenacity, professionalism and distinguished himself in his chosen carrier.
According to him, “whether he won or lost any of his cases, you knew that he had worked hard and presented the facts and expressed opinions as only a professional would.”
He urged family members of late Ocholi to take solace in the legacy he had left behind.
Representative of the body of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr Alex Iziyon (SAN), described Ocholi as “an enigma of a gentleman,” saying Ocholi was tenacious in approach to his professional calling.
He said: “When I was here practicing in Kabba, he was in Ankpa and we were criss crossing; even when I came over to Abuja, he was still in Ankpa and I said James, you cannot remain there. Come over here because I think things are greener here, little did I know that will be all. I called him about 1.28 pm that fateful day only to be told he had died in an accident.”
Also in his tribute, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr. Ado Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of the traditional rulers, said the entire people of the state and Nigeria in general would miss the service of the late Minister.
He noted that Ocholi’s dead was a great loss, describing him as “a gentle and honest man” who was ready at anytime to serve his country.
He also prayed for the soul of the late Minister’s wife and son, Mrs. Blessing Fatimah Ocholi, and Mr. Joshua Ocholi, respectively.