The standard bearer of the Labour Party in the last presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, has described the late former governor of Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, as a dogged fighter and principled leader.
Obi, in company of Prof. Pat Utomi, said this when he paid a condolence visit to the Akeredolus in their Jericho home, in Ibadan, early on Tuesday.
Obi averred that apart from being a dogged fighter, Akeredolu was a forthright person who stood on the side of the masses at all times.
Praying to God to grant the family, the Ondo State people and the entire country the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, Obi also prayed for eternal rest for the departed governor.
Prof Utomi, who was a classmate of the late governor at Loyola College, Ibadan in the 1960s recalled that the character traits displayed by Akeredolu in the governance of Ondo State had been part of him right from secondary school.
He said Akeredolu was not one who would keep quiet in the face of oppression and that he never compromised on justice and equity.
He condoled with the people of Ondo State on the passing of Akeredolu, describing it as a collosal loss to both the state and the country.
Responding on the part of the family, the immediate younger brother of the deceased, Prof Wole Akeredolu, thanked Obi and Utomi for the visit and their support for the family.
In his remark in the condolence register, Obi wrote: “May God Almighty who called you home grant you eternal rest in His kingdom and grant your family and all of us the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss. God Almighty bless your family.”
