Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the inaugural civil governor of Abia State and ex-Minister of Science and Technology during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, has passed away.
The 72-year-old Onu died on Thursday morning in a hospital in Abuja.
His death was confirmed by a relative from Ebonyi, who mentioned that the former governor had been battling illness for some time, and there were plans to seek medical treatment abroad for him after the Sallah holiday.
“He had been unwell for a portion of this year, and his family intended to take him overseas for superior medical care, but unfortunately, he did not survive that long,” the relative stated.
Onu, an Ebonyi State native, served as Abia State’s first civilian governor and as Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation from November 2015 until his resignation in 2022.
The former minister, who was 72 years old at the time of his death, ran for the All Progressive Congress’s (APC) presidential nomination in the 2023 general election but was defeated by President Bola Tinubu.
Until his demise in April 2024, Onu was a distinguished Nigerian politician, author, and engineer.
