The president-elect, Bola Tinubu, has sent his condolences to the family of former Chief of General Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya, who passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

Mr Tinubu, while expressing his sadness over the passing of the retired general in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, praised his contributions to national development and the military institution.

The president-elect, currently on vacation in London and will be in Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) before returning to the country, said the news of Mr Diya’s death came to him as a shock.

“Gen. Diya lived a remarkable life of a soldier, and he made his mark in the military where he served our country diligently as Military Governor of Ogun and in the various military positions he held.

“He rose to the enviable position of Chief of General Staff and second in command to the Head of State, he served meritoriously,” Mr Tinubu said.

He noted that as much as he could, Mr Diya played a stabilising role during one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s life in the aftermath of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.

The president-elect said the deceased would be remembered for his patriotism and service to the nation.

He condoled with Governor Dapo Abiodun and the people of Ogun, Mr Diya’s home state and prayed to Almighty Allah to comfort his family and those he left behind and to grant his soul eternal rest.

The former Nigeria’s number two citizen served as military governor of Ogun, where he hailed from, between January 1984 to August 1985.

(NAN)