Cornelius Adebayo
Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, a former senator and ex-governor of Kwara state, has passed on.
The family told TheCable that Adebayo died early Wednesday morning in Abuja.
He was 84 years of age.
“With profound sadness but gratitude to God, we announce the passing of our father and grandfather, Chief Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo,” a statement from the family, signed by Oluwasegun Adebayo, reads.
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“Born on 24 February 1941, he died in the early hours of today, June 25.
“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.”
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LIFE WITH NADECO
Born in Igbaja community of Kwara, Adebayo was governor of the state in 1983.
He was minister of communications from 2003 to 2006 and was elected senator on the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) platform in 1979.
Adebayo was a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) as pro-democracy activists sought to reclaim the mandate handed to MKO Abiola in the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
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In 1993, Adebayo was offered a ministerial position in the Sani Abacha junta but declined.
On May 31, 1995, a bomb exploded in Ilorin, the Kwara capital. The police arrested and grilled Adebayo and other members of NADECO over the incident.
He fled the country in 1996 for a brief exile in Canada as the junta reportedly closed in on him for a second time.
Adebayo is credited with a slew of education reforms in Kwara as the state’s education commissioner from 1975 to 1978.
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