Reacting to the death of Mike Akhigbe last night, Senate President David Mark expressed sorrow at the death of his former military colleague, saying he had lost a brother.
The cause of death was throat cancer. It has been learnt that the former military administrator of Ondo and Lagos States first experienced symptoms of his disease in 2010. He was engaged in President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign at the time, but took a leave to fly to Germany where doctors gave him the grim diagnosis.
For three years, he underwent treatment for his cancer in Germany, the UK and the USA before finally losing battle to the disease on October 28, 2013, Monday. Over the last one month, the former naval officer received treatment at the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Hospital in Manhattan, which is one of the top treatment facilities for cancer in the world.
The Nigerian Consulate in New York also confirmed Admiral Akhigbe’s death, adding that they were conferring with the late officer’s family on plans to convey his remains back to Nigeria for burial.
Mike Akhigbe worked under military regimes led by Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, holding positions at various times as a governor or member of the armed forces ruling council. He rose to become the Chief of General Staff under the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime. He was retired from military service in 1999 just as Olusegun Obasanjo took over power as Nigeria’s elected president.
The late naval officer who hailed from Edo State, was 67 years old.
Initial reports, which later turned out to be false, reported on Monday morning that the former chief of naval staff was dead. However, the family had refuted the publications, saying Akhigbe was alive and was stabilising, despite being critically sick. Nigerian Navy also blasted misleading reports. However now, it looks like a final in the glorious life of Admiral Mike.
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