A former managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and presidential spokesperson to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mrs Oluremi Oyo, is dead.

Aged 62, her husband, Vincent Oyo, confirmed the news of her death to the news agency on Thursday morning.

Born 1952, in Ilorin, Kwara state, young Oluremi started her basic education at St. James' Catholic Primary School, Ilorin, Kwara State. She later left Ilorin for Kano to continue her secondary education at St. Louis Secondary School, Bompai, Kano, Kano State.

She was later admitted to University of Lagos (UNILAG), where she earned a Diploma in Mass Communication with distinction and later a post graduate Diploma in International Relations at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and bagged her Master's degree in International Relations at the University of Kent, Canterbury in the United Kingdom.

Mrs Oyo began her media career as a reporter, then at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), where she rose to the position of Principal Editor.

From FRCN, she left for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), as an editor and also the pioneer Head of the Quality Control Desk. She also worked for many years as Nigeria Bureau Chief at the Inter Press Service Global News Agency.

In 2003, Mrs Oyo was appointed as the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Olusegun Obasanjo for Media and Publicity, becoming the first woman in Nigeria to occupy such office. She served in that capacity for four years after which she was in 2007, appointed as the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Mrs Oyo, a seasoned media practitioner, was the first female president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. She was also a fellow of the Guild and Nigerian Institute of Management and the Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria.

In 2006, she was decorated with a national award, Officer of the Order of Niger (OON). Mrs Oyo also became a Dame of Saint Gregory the Great, a knighthood bestowed on her by Pope Benedict (XVI) in recognition of her support fir girl child education, especially at St Louis Secondary School, Kano, her alma mater.

She is survived by her husband, Vincent, children and grandchildren.