The death of Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, has added to the grim record of Nigerian governors who died in office since the return of democracy in 1999.
Akeredolu, who was 67 years old, reportedly succumbed to complications arising from prostate cancer after a prolonged battle with the disease.
He is the second governor to die in office in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, following the death of:
– Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State, who died in a helicopter crash on December 15, 2012, along with former National Security Adviser, Owoye Azazi, and four others.
Yakowa (1 December 1948 – 15 December 2012) was a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Kaduna State from 2010 to 2012.
He was appointed deputy governor in July 2005, and returned as deputy governor in the April 2007 elections. He was sworn in as governor on 20 May 2010, replacing former governor Namadi Sambo who had been sworn in as vice president the day before.
Yakowa successfully ran for election as Kaduna Governor in the 26 April 2011 polls.
On 15 December 2012, Yakowa died in a helicopter crash along with the former National Security Adviser General Owoye Andrew Azazi (rtd) while flying from Bayelsa State to Port Harcourt. They were returning from the funeral of Oronto Douglas’ father in Bayelsa state.
The deputy governor to Yakowa, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, was sworn-in the following day (Sunday, 16 December 2012) as the state’s new governor by the state Chief Judge, Justice Rahila Cudjoe.
– Akeredolu’s adopted prefix was “Arakunrin”, while his nickname was “Aketi”. He was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who became president of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2008.
Akeredolu was also a Managing Partner at the law firm of Olujinmi & Akeredolu, which he co-founded with Chief Akin Olujinmi, a former Attorney General and Minister for Justice of Nigeria.
On 21 July 2020, he was declared as the Ondo governorship candidate after the primary elections under the platform of the All Progressive Congress.
During his time as the governor of Ondo State he doubled as the chairman of Southwest Governors.
