 A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Melafia has passed on at the age of 64. Melafia was said to have died at midnight after a brief illness. The former deputy governor, who was the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2019 election, was a known government critic and had advocated for public sector and exchange rate reforms. Melafia was born on December 24, 1956, in the Sangha local government area of Cardona State. He later graduated top of his class at Amadoubello University, Zarya, in 1978, with a B.S.C. Honours Social Sciences degree, Politics, Economics and Sociology. He also had an M.C. from the same institution. He subsequently won a French government scholarship to France, where he earned a certificate in French language and civilisation from the University of Clermont-Verand in 1985.