Kogi State Government has described the death of the Publisher of Kogi Affairs newspaper, Chief Kola Toluhi, 52, as a very big blow on the journalism profession.
The deceased was a former reporter with Vanguard newspapers.
Kogi State Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi, stated this when he paid a condolence visit to the family of late Chief Toluhi, who died in an auto-crash along Lokoja – Okene road Wednesday evening.
Awoniyi said “The government and people of the state mourn with heavy heart the death of the veteran journalist. Toluhi was a colossus, an embodiment of developmental journalism, who knew his onions.”
Awoniyi who said the death had created a vacuum that would be difficult to fill, urged the family and colleagues he left behind to take solace in the fact that the late publisher left an indelible mark in the journalism profession.
“I had known Kola for over two decades. I am proud to say he took the journalism profession to an enviable heights that we are proud of in the state and I urge the members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Kogi State Council, to immortalize the good qualities of the late publisher by being noble and upright in the discharge of their profession”.
Awoniyi prayed God to grant the deceased eternal rest, and assured of the state government’s support to the family he left behind.
Also reacting, the state Chairman of the NUJ, Alhaji Ali Atabor, said the death came as a shock to the council.
“Kola was an epitome of hard work, a true professional, who took the journalism profession to the peak. I pray God to grant the family he left behind the fortitude to bear the loss,” he said.
