Leke Baiyewu, Bayo Akinloye and Ted Odogwu
Tributes have continued to pour in for a chieftain of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, who died on Thursday at the age of 91.
Senate President Bukola Saraki on Saturday described Ajayi’s death as a sad loss of one of the country’s surviving nationalists.
Saraki, in a condolence message signed by the Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said, “Nigeria is blessed to have had the likes of the late elder statesman and passionate Awoist as one of its leading political elites. His sterling qualities and selfless service to humanity is worthy of emulation. His footprints on the sands of time will remain indelible. He shall be sorely missed.”
The Senate President commiserated with the immediate family of the deceased, Afenifere, the government and people of Ogun State, the entire Yoruba race and the country in general over the death of Ajayi.
Similarly, the Arewa Consultative Forum, on Saturday, commiserated with the family of the late Afenifere chieftain, describing him as an astute politician.
The Chairman of the ACF, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, in a statement, said, “Chief Ajayi will be remembered as an astute politician, a legal luminary and an intellectual per excellence. By his death, Nigeria has lost another patriotic citizen who made significant contributions towards nation-building.”
In his tribute, the Senator representing Lagos West Senatorial District, Solomon Adeola, described the demise of the elder statesman as the end of a “great and principled man whose contribution to progressive politics in Nigeria over the years remains unparalleled.”
In his condolence message, the senator noted that Ajayi’s loyalty and consistent adherence to the philosophy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo spanning over six decades, was a good example for modern-day politicians.
The senator prayed for the peaceful repose of his soul and the fortitude for the family to bear the irreparable loss.
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