A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and Former Minister of Environment, Chief John Omar Odey is dead.

According to reports, Odey, 58, died in a Dubai hospital from a cancer-related illness.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Uche Secondus, confirmed his passing during the PDP Convention in Port Harcourt.

Odeh was a former Minister of Information and one time Cross River State Commissioner for Agriculture.

He also served as state treasurer of the PDP.

Mr. Odey was appointed Nigerian minister of information and communications in July 2007 and became minister for environment in December 2008 after President Umaru Yar’Adua reshuffled his cabinet.

Mr. Odey graduated with a B.Sc. in banking and finance from the University of Calabar in 1986. He has been active within the media, with positions such as general manager for South-South Communication and chairman of News Agency of Nigeria.

He was appointed National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2004.

He served as minister of information and communications and then as minister for the environment in the cabinet of Umaru Yar’Adua. In March 2010, he handed over to the permanent secretary for the ministry of environment after Vice President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet.