Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Joy Ogwu, Dies at 79

Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and one-time Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Professor Joy Ogwu, has passed away at the age of 79.

According to reports confirmed by a senior diplomat who spoke with Daily Sun, news of her death was received from New York, United States. The former diplomat, who also served as Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), was said to have died after a battle with a cancer-related illness.

Reacting to the development, Nigeria’s former Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Usman Sarki, said:

“Today, we received the sad news of the passing away of the Permanent Representative (former), Professor Joy Ogwu. It is very sad. She was a very fine woman; she represented Nigeria to the best of her ability under very difficult circumstances,” Sarki stated.

Sarki, who served as her deputy during her tenure at the United Nations, described her as “a very decent human being.”