The family of Chief Daniel Osi Orbih, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Vice-Chairman, South-South, has confirmed his death at the age of 64.
The family confirmed his death in a statement issued on Tuesday in Benin by Mr Francis Orbih, saying he died on Monday and is survived by his wife, Mrs Florence Orbih, two children, Ms Winifred Orbih and Dr Mildred Orbih, as well as his siblings and other relatives.
The family described the deceased as a beloved brother, husband, father and uncle, saying his death was received with “profound sadness and a heavy heart.”
“At this difficult time, we ask family members, friends and well-wishers to remember the entire family in their prayers as we mourn this painful loss,” the statement said.
The family said details of the burial and other arrangements would be announced in due course, while urging friends, relatives and well-wishers to continue to pray for the family during the mourning period.
Reacting to the death, former Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki described Orbih as a prominent Edo politician and influential voice whose contributions to the PDP and Nigerian politics remained significant.
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Obaseki said Orbih’s years of public engagement earned him a place in the political history of Edo State. “For many years, he provided leadership to the Peoples’ Democratic Party in Edo State as its State Chairman and subsequently served as the PDP National Vice Chairman, South South.
“Through these roles, he contributed significantly to the development of the party in Edo State and Nigeria,” Obaseki said in a statement issued in Benin.
He described Orbih’s death as a significant loss to Edo State and Nigeria and extended his condolences to the deceased’s wife, children, family members, political associates, colleagues and well-wishers.
Also mourning Orbih, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, described his death as painful and said he had lost a close friend and political associate.
Wike, in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Mr Lere Olayinka, described Orbih as “a friend indeed” and “one of the biggest trees in the political forest of Edo.”
“I have lost a friend and a committed political ally. Daniel Orbih was everything anyone could desire in friendship and political associates. But we can’t question God. He gives and He takes,” Wike said.
He condoled with the Orbih family, particularly the deceased’s relatives and political associates, describing him as “a great politician and a man of faith in the Almighty God. He will be missed by all. May his soul rest in peace,” Wike said.
NAN
