Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, the former governor of Kwara State, has reportedly died at the age of 84. His death was confirmed by sources within the family, stating that the pro-democracy advocate died in the early hours of Wednesday, June 2, in Abuja.
The former governor was born on February 24, 1941, in the Igbaja community of the north-central state. Before his death, he remained a key figure in the political and democratic evolution of Nigeria.
Adebayo was the governor of Kwara State in 1983 and was subsequently elected as senator under the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) platform in 1979. The late former governor also served as the Minister of Communications of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 2003 and 2006, under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The late politician was a frontline member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). The pro-democratic group resisted the military government and struggled to reclaim the June 12, 1993, presidential election mandate, a poll won by the late MKO Abiola.
In 1993, the former governor also rejected a position from the then-military government of the late General Sani Abacha. He was arrested by the police because of his link to the opposition activities following the bomb explosion in 1995. He 1996, he went into exile in Canada.
Between 1975 and 1978, he was the Kwara State Commissioner for Education. Adebayo’s death came months after a former deputy speaker of the Kwara state House of Assembly, Christopher Ayeni, lost his life in a fatal accident along the Ilorin-Ajase-Ipo Road in Irepodun Local Government Area.
The accident occurred around 10 am and involved a commercial truck and a Toyota Hilux. Unfortunately, Ayeni succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, while five others were injured in the crash.
Ayeni, also known as CT Ayeni, was a prominent figure in Kwara State politics, having served as Deputy Speaker from 1999 to 2000 and later as Commissioner for Agriculture from 2000 to 2003. He was also a 2023 House of Representatives candidate. His passing has sent shockwaves throughout the state, with many mourning the loss of a respected leader.
Source: Legit.ng