Audu Innocent Ogbeh (; born 28 July 1947) is a Nigerian farmer, playwright and politician who served as the minister of agriculture and rural development from 2015 to 2019. He was chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from 2001 until January 2005. He served as the minister of communications in the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region ...

from 1982 to 1983. He is known for his literary works, and has written five plays which include three published works. One of his plays, the Epitaph of Simon Kisulu was staged at Muson Center in 2002.

Background

Ogbeh was born on 28 July 1947, in present day

Benue State Benue is a State in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria. It is popularly referred to as part of the Middle belt. It has an estimated population of about 4,253,641 in List of Nigerian states by population, the 2006 census. ...

. He is 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 at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only boys as pupils, although prior to ...

from 1967 to 1969, then studied at the

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

from 1969 to 1972 and the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from 1973 to 1974. He lectured at the Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1972 to 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 ...

from 1977 to 1979.

Political career

In 1979, he ran for office in the Benue State House of Assembly 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 Nigeri ...

(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 who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

to power. In 2001, he was appointed National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), replacing Chief Barnabas Gemade. 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 (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

's handling of a crisis in

Anambra State Anambra () is a States of Nigeria, state in Nigeria. It is located in the South East (Nigeria), South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Ri ...

. 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 along the Benue River. In 2017, Makurdi's urban population was 517,342. The town is divided by the Ri ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogbeh, Audu 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 Academic staff of Ahmadu Bello University University of Toulouse alumni Nigerian Christians