•Ekiti Senator mourns, says he was pan-Ekiti patriot

An Afenifere chieftain and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, George Olanrewaju Akosile, has died at the age of 88.

Akosile, the Asiwaju of Igbara Odo Ekiti, was, until his death, Chairman of Ekiti State Government Appointments Committee, created by Governor Biodun Oyebanji, to identify and recommend the best and most qualified indigenes that could serve in his administration.

The widely respected elder statesman, who served at the highest level in Ondo State Civil Service before joining politics, is survived by many children and grandchildren.

Among his children is Abimbola Akosile, Development analyst and former News Editor of THISDAY on Sunday Newspapers.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele, expressed shock at the sudden death of the former Chairman of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Ekiti State, Akosile.

Bamidele regarded the late politician and respectable bureaucrat as a dedicated and unshaken pan-Ekiti patriot, who relentlessly pursued enhancement of Ekiti development throughout his lifetime.

Reacting to his death in a statement, yesterday, Bamidele, said Pa Akosile, had etched his name in gold as one of the icons who zealously participated in the epic battle for creation of the state during Gen. Sanni Abacha’s regime in 1996.