Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Solan), has described the demise, on Wednesday, 12 January, 2022, of a one-time governor of Oyo State and state leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, aged 71, as a big loss.
Senator Lanlehin, in a release from his Media Bureau in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, expressed sadness at the loss of the enigmatic politician, particularly at a time the progressive family needs his leadership and mentoring to navigate the murky waters of today’s politics.
Lanlehin, who pointed out that Governor Alao-Akala would be fondly remembered for his humaneness and generosity, which earned him the monicker, “Oyato”, among friends, lovers and admirers, across the length and breadth of Nigeria, called on aspiring and practicing politicians to learn from the departed’s life and times, service and welfarism, which true progressivism entails.
“Governor Alao-Akala’s government, was noted for its infrastructural uplift of towns and cities, particularly outside Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and for his touch of humaneness and generosity”, Lanlehin recalled.
While commiserating with the Alao-Akala family, the All Progressives Congress (APC), government and people of Oyo State and Nigerians at large, Senator Lanlehin (Solan), urged all to take solace in the fact that the departed maverick politician, was a politician of class, with a difference, who straddled the landscape of Oyo State politics, especially that of Ogbomoso Zone, with authority, becoming the determining force in its politics unquestionably. “In every election cycle, it appears most political parties cede Ogbomoso to Governor Akala, even from the strategy stage”, Lanlehin recalled.
Senator Lanlehin (Solan), subsequently prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed, and for the Almighty to grant everyone the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.