THE Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in last year’s election, Mr. Peter Obi, has described the late Ondo State governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, as a principled leader, patriotic Nigerian and dogged fighter.
Speaking on Tuesday, January 2 when he paid a condolence visit to the Jericho, Ibadan residence of the late governor, alongside Prof. Pat Utomi, Obi said he was in Ibadan to commiserate with the bereaved wife, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, and the entire Akeredolu family.
He recalled that Akeredolu, as a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), was passionate about building a better and more productive Nigeria, adding: “He was a forthright person who stood on the side of the masses at all times.”
He prayed to God to grant the family, the people of Ondo State and the entire country the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
On his part, Utomi disclosed that Akeredolu was his classmate at Loyola College, Ibadan, in the 1960s, saying the character traits displayed by the deceased in the governance of Ondo State had been part of him right from secondary school.
Utomi added that Akeredolu was not one who would keep quiet in the face of oppression and never compromised on justice and equity.
The deceased’s younger brother, Prof. Wole Akeredolu, expressed the family’s appreciation for the visit and their support for the family.
