Former Kwara governor, Cornelius Adebayo, is dead

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A former governor of Kwara State and minister of communications, Cornelius Adebayo, is dead.

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According to a statement by his eldest son, Oluwasegun, Mr Adebayo died on Wednesday morning in Abuja at the age of 84.

“With profound sadness but gratitude to God, we announce the passing of our father and grandfather, Chief Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo. Born on 24 February 1941, he died in the early hours of today, June 25,” the statement read.

“He was at various times a lecturer at the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), a Second Republic Senator and later Governor of Kwara State and Minister of Communications and Transportation between 2003 and 2007.

“Throughout his life, he was a dedicated public servant who served with distinction and integrity.

“Further details about funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.”

The deceased was born in Igbaja in the Ifelodun Local Government Area to parents from Oke-Onigbin in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State.

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A former commissioner for education in Kwara between 1975 and 1978, he was elected senator in 1979 under the opposition Unity Party of Nigeria upon Nigeria’s return to civil rule under the Second Republic.

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In 1983, he became the second elected governor of the state when he beat incumbent governor Adamu Attah of the National Party of Nigeria in a closely fought election. However, he held the office for only three months before the Muhammadu Buhari-led military coup truncated the Second Republic on the last day of that year.

After General Ibrahim Babangida’s transition to civil rule programme ended in a fiasco in 1993, Mr Adebayo joined the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) to fight for the de-annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election won by Moshood Abiola.

He was arrested alongside some other members of the group in 1995 after a bomb blast in Ilorin.

The following year, he fled to Canada and went into exile.

Mr Adebayo was appointed Minister of Communications and Transportation by President Olusegun Obasanjo and served from 2003 to 2006.