The former governor of old Ondo State (an amalgamation of Ekiti and Ondo States), Elder Bamidele Olumilua, is dead.
The octogenarian died in the early hours of Thursday in his Ikere-Ekiti hometown, Ekiti State, after a brief illness.
The Elder Statesman was born in 1940, and rose through the ranks before becoming the Executive Governor of old Ondo State between January 1992 and November 1993, under the platform of Social Democratic Party, SDP.
He was forced to relinquish his position as the governor of the state by the military regime of the late Major-General Sani Abacha.
Till his demise, he was the Chancellor of the Ekiti State University. He was also touted to be one of the founding fathers of the Action Congress Party.
Muyiwa Olumilua, who is currently the Ekiti State Commissioner for Information and also the son of the late Olumilua, confirmed the death in a phone chat.
The commissioner said, “Baba died today (Thursday) around 3 am. We thank God that he lived a good and worthy life and we are proud of his personality and achievements while alive.
“Burial arrangements will be announced later.”