A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SSG), Ufot Ekaette, is dead.
Mr Ekaette who hails from Akwa Ibom State, was once a deputy governor of the state in the era of military rule in Nigeria.
He was appointed SGF in May 1999 by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He served Mr Obasanjo’s administration in that position for eight years and was later appointed the first minister of the Niger Delta Affairs ministry by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
At the time of his death, Mr Ekaette was aged 80.
Family sources say the former SGF died on Wednesday after a brief illness.