Audu Innocent Ogbeh (born 28 July 1947) is a Nigerian politician who was chairman of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP) from 2001 until January 2005. He is the former Minister of Agriculture of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

from 2015–2019. Ogbeh is also known for his literary works. He has written five plays which include three published works. One of his plays, the Epitaph of Simon Kisulu was staged at

Muson Center MUSON Centre (Musical Society of Nigeria) is a performance hall in Lagos. The multipurpose civic auditorium is located in the heart of Lagos Island, situated between the National Museum, the City Mall, the Onikan Stadium and the former offici ...

in 2002.

Background

Ogbeh was born on July 28, 1947, in

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...

, of Idoma background. He attended

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students on its original site at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only male students ...

(1967 - 1968), then studied at the

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

(1969 - 1972) and the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(1973 - 1974). He lectured at the Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1972 - 1976) and headed the Department of Humanities,

Murtala College of Arts, Science and Technology The Benue State Polytechnic is a tertiary education institute in Ugbokolo, Okpokwu LGA, Benue State, Nigeria. The current Rector is Dr. Usman David Kuti. It was originally known as the ''Murtala College of Arts, Science and Technology'', establi ...

(1977 - 1979).

Political career

In 1979, he ran for office in the

Benue State House of Assembly The Benue State House of Assembly is the legislative arm of the government of Benue State of Nigeria. It is a unicameral legislature with 17 members elected from the 23 local government areas of the state. Some local government areas are merged t ...

on the Platform of the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

(NPN), becoming deputy speaker of the house. In 1982, he was appointed Federal Minister of Communications, and later became Minister of Steel Development. His term of office ended in December 1983, when a military coup brought Major-General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

to power. In 2001, he was appointed National Chairman of the

(PDP), replacing Chief

Barnabas Gemade Barnabas Andyar Iyorhyer Gemade (born 4 September 1948) is a Nigerian politician, formerly National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), who was elected Senator for the Benue North East constituency of Benue State, Nigeria on 9 Apr ...

. He held this position until January 2005, when he was forced to resign due to his criticism of President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

's handling of a crisis in

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

. Talking to reporters, however, Ogbeh claimed that he resigned only to avoid conflict within the party, and due to a desire to return to farming.

Later career

In December 2005, Ogbeh formally resigned from the PDP. As of 2009, he was chairman and managing director, Efugo Farms,

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popula ...

, and a member of Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships Incorporated, based in Philadelphia, United States of America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogbeh, Audu Innocent 1947 births Living people Idoma people People from Benue State Buhari administration personnel National Working Committee chairs National Party of Nigeria politicians Federal ministers of Nigeria King's College, Lagos alumni Ahmadu Bello University alumni Ahmadu Bello University faculty University of Toulouse alumni