President Bola Tinubu has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and erstwhile Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Joy Uche Angela Ogwu, who died at the age of 79.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the President described the late diplomat as “a trailblazer who rose to the highest level of her vocation through excellence and hard work.”
Ambassador Ogwu, who served as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from May 2008 to May 2017, also held the position of Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), where she made invaluable contributions to the formulation of Nigeria’s foreign policy and to international relations scholarship.
The President noted that Ambassador Ogwu’s tenure at the United Nations was marked by distinction and leadership, having twice presided over the UN Security Council — first in July 2010 and again in October 2011 — where she championed issues of global peace, disarmament, and the advancement of women’s rights.
“Ambassador Joy Ogwu projected Nigeria’s voice with clarity and purpose on the global stage and worked tirelessly for peace, international security, and the empowerment of women,” Onanuga quoted the President as saying.
President Tinubu extended his heartfelt condolences to Ambassador Ogwu’s family — including her five children, grandchildren, and siblings — as well as to the diplomatic and academic communities mourning her passing.
