President‑elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has expressed his condolences to the family and colleagues of Friday Nwosu, the National Welfare Officer of the ruling All Progressives Congress, who died in Abuja on Thursday evening. Nwosu, a party chieftain who once contested the Abia State governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party before defecting to the APC, was admitted to an undisclosed health facility in the Federal Capital Territory and discharged on Wednesday. He returned to the same hospital for a routine check‑up on Thursday, where, according to a source, he relapsed, was rushed to the intensive care unit, and subsequently passed away.
In a condolence message issued by his media office on Friday, Tinubu lamented that Nwosu’s death had left a “gaping hole” in the party. He wrote, “I received with shock and grief the news of the sudden death of Chief Nwosu. He was a dedicated party man and a leader who paid his dues for the success of the party. I join friends and family in grieving this sudden loss of a man who had worked so well for our great party. His sacrifices and contributions to the growth of democracy and our party will be cherished for a long time.”
Nwosu’s last official assignment before the presidential and National Assembly elections was a press conference held on February 10. At that event, he appealed to former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development Uche Ogah and other disgruntled stakeholders to reconcile with Abia governorship candidate Ikechi Emenike in order to wrest the state from the Peoples Democratic Party. Ogah, also a governorship aspirant, had challenged the Court of Appeal’s decision in Abuja that overturned his candidacy. A five‑member Supreme Court panel, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Tijanni Abubakar, found Ogah’s appeal to be without merit. The ruling deepened the rift between Ogah’s supporters and those of Emenike, a situation the ruling party feared could jeopardize its chances in the state election. In his final appeal, the late APC national welfare secretary urged the warring factions to “sheath their swords” and work together for the party’s victory, pleading with Ogah to dissolve his political structure and join forces with Emenike.
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