FORMER governor of Ondo state Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, died on Wednesday, December 27, after a prolonged illness at the age of 67.
The state government confirmed his passing and disclosed he battled leukaemia and prostate cancer, which resulted in his death.
He was the third Nigerian governor who died in office since the country returned to democracy in May 1999.
Others are Patrick Yakubu Yakowa, who died in 2012 in a military jet crash, and Mamman Ali of Yobe state, who yielded to death in 2009 after a long battle with leukaemia.
Confirming Akeredolu’s passing in a statement on Wednesday, December 27, the Ondo state government said the former chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association died of protracted prostate cancer.
The ICIR reports that the late governor had been incapacitated for several months, disrupting governance and causing confusion in the state.
The late governor was born on July 21 1956, in Owo, Ondo state, to the late Ola Akeredolu and Grace Akeredolu.
Patrick Yakubu Yakowa (Kaduna state)
Patrick Yakowa 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 May 20, 2010, replacing former governor Namadi Sambo, who was picked as vice president to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Yakowa ran for election as Kaduna Governor in the April 26 2011 polls and won.
On December 15, 2012, a Nigerian naval helicopter crashed in the Niger Delta, killing Yakowa and a former national security adviser, Owoye Azazi.
Others who died in the tragedy include Mohammed Kamal, Dauda Tsoho and two pilots.
Mamman Bello Ali (Yobe state)
Mamman Bello Ali contested and won the governorship election in Yobe in 2007 under the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
He was in office until he died in 2009.
Before becoming governor, he served as a senator representing Yobe South Senatorial District between 1999 and 2007.
He died of leukaemia while receiving treatment at a hospital in Florida, United States, on January 27, 2009
He was born in 1958.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance