Former Chief Of General Staff Admiral Mike Akhigbe Dies at 67

Retired Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe, who played several roles in a

number of military regimes in Nigeria, passed away today in New York

City, SaharaReporters has confirmed.



A source close to the family told our correspondent that Mr. Akhigbe

breathed his last at 1.06 p.m. (New York time). He was surrounded by

his wife, his children, and their spouses, our source disclosed.



The cause of death was throat cancer, said the source. SaharaReporters

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 United States of America before finally succumbing to the disease

earlier today. Over the last one month, the former naval officer

received treatment at the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Hospital in

Manhattan. The hospital is one of the top treatment facilities for

cancer in the world.



The Nigerian Consulate in New York also confirmed Mr. 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.



Mr. 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.