Breaking: Captain Hosa Okunbo is Dead

Business magnate, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, is dead. He died of pancreatic cancer in London Sunday morning,

He was aged 63.

THISDAY gathered that he was diagnosed with cancer last September.

The Edo-born late businessman, politician and philanthropist was chairman of Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMSL).

The photograph in this report was his last photograph before his death.

Born on January 7, 1958 in Benin City, into the family of Reverend Robert Amos Okunbo, a clergyman and teacher, Captain Okunbo attended Federal Government College, Warri.

He became a commercial pilot at 21 after graduating from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Centre, Zaria, Kaduna State. He later attended ACME School of Aeronautics, Fort Worth Texas, United States, where he obtained an Airline Transport Pilot Licence. He was a flight captain with Intercontinental Airlines and also worked at Okada Airlines. He retired from piloting at 30 to venture into business.

The late Okunbo was successful in business. He founded and chaired many companies including CMES-OMS Petroleum Development Company (CPDC), which, in September 2019, signed $875.75m alternative financing deal for the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) operated OML 65; The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments; Wells San-Carlos Agro Farms Ltd., which unveiled a $750 million, 9,000-hectare farm in Edo in 2016, and Ocean Marine Security Ltd., an offshore asset-protection company.

The Federal Government in January cancelled the lucrative but controversial Secure Anchorage Area (SAA) contract handled by his company, OMSL.