NEWS
Spokesman shares Ajimobi’s COVID-19 story, reveals Sunday burial plans
Burial ceremony of Abiola Ajimobi, former governor of Oyo state, died of COVID-19 complications in Lagos on Thursday, has been scheduled to take place on Sunday.
The burial was initially scheduled to hold on Friday, but according to Bolaji Tunji, special assistant on media to the governor, the event was postponed following consultations with the governments of Lagos and Oyo.
In a statement on Friday, Tunji said the burial will be held in line with the existing protocol issued by the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19.
“In close consultation with the governments of Lagos and Oyo States, the date for the burial ceremony has been announced. Barring any changes, his body will be interred at the Senator Ishaq Abiola Ajimobi Central Mosque at Oke Ado, Ibadan at 12noon on Sunday, the 28th of June, 2020, after the traditional Muslim prayers,” the statement read.
“To ensure that strict COVID-19 protocols are adhered to and in light of the current circumstances of our national health challenges, the family appeals to the public to observe strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols in their participation.
“Furthermore, details of the live media coverage of the funeral ceremony will be made public by tomorrow. In the near future, details of a larger funeral gathering will be announced where a lot more of his well wishers will have the opportunity to pay him their respect.”
Ajimobi was governor of Oyo from 2011 till 2019, when he completed his second term in office. He won his first term as governor on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and secured a second term victory as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He broke a 39-year record in the history of the state by being the first governor to secure a second term in office.
Bolaji Tunji, spokesman to the late Abiola Ajimobi, ex-governor of Oyo state, said the deceased took all necessary precautions against COVID-19. The spokesman said the late ex-governor of Oyo state had planned to retire from politics after completing his eight-year tenure as governor.
After his second term as governor, Ajimobi had contested the Oyo south senatorial election but lost to Muhammed Kola-Balogun, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a tribute on Facebook, Tunji said the late Ajimobi told his staff that he did not want to take up any political appointment after the general election but was convinced to accept his appointment as the deputy national chairman (south) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“He never wanted anything else after the general election. He only wanted to take a long, due rest after serving for 8 years without break. But another position was thrust on him,” Tunji said.
“He never solicited for us and he did not want. But they convinced him to accept. I know because in his usual forthrightness, he narrated how it happened. He took the positions because he felt it would benefit his people. ‘ I have done my bit. There is nothing I set out to achieve that I did not, I cannot be governor again, but I can not leave you people’ he would say.”