VANGUARD
The death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, following his long battle with prostrate cancer, has thrown the entire state into a sober mood.
This tragic incident of a governor dying in office poses challenges to the foundations of regional governance. It also casts a spotlight on the vulnerability of political leadership in a nation striving for stability and progress.
Here is the narrative of four state governors who met their untimely demise while in office in the history of Nigeria’s political.
Oluwarotimi Akeredolu
Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), ex-president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and ex-Attorney General of Ondo State, was a second-term governor before his death.
Aketi, as he was fondly called by friends and admirers, wore many hats and was acknowledged by many of his contemporaries as a dogged leader with unbending personal convictions.
Until his death, he was the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, a body with governors of the 17 states in Southern Nigeria as members.
Mamman Bello Ali
Mamman Bello Ali represented Yobe South Senatorial District between 1999 and 2007 and was the chairman senate committee on public account.
He contested and won the governorship election in Yobe in 2007 under the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and was in office until he died in 2009.
Bello died of leukaemia while receiving treatment at a hospital in Florida, United States.
Shehu Kangiwa
Shehu Kangiwa died in office in a polo accident in January 1982. Kangiwa was the governor of Sokoto State at the time of his death.
Kamgiwa’s deputy, Garba Nadama, was sworn in as the Sokoto governor until November 1983 when Muhammadu Buhari took over power through a military coup.
Kangiwa was fondly called the ‘Smiling Governor’. He was elected governor of Sokoto under the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), but his administration was short-lived.
