BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

ADO-EKITI – Foremost politician, lawyer and former deputy governor to Chief Adekunle Ajasin in the old Ondo state, Chief Michael Omoboriowo, is dead.

Omoboriowo, 81, a native of Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State, was said to have died about 6 p.m on Tuesday, in the residence of his first son, Akinwole Jnr, in Ikeja, Lagos.

The  news of the death of the top politician was conveyed to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, by the state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mr Funminiyi Afuye, quoting a letter  from Akinwole which intimated Governor Kayode Fayemi of the death of his father.

The late politician started his career at University of Ife (now Obafemi  Awolowo University, OAU),  as an administrative officer and rose to the position of deputy registrar before he ventured to read law. He retired from the university and started a private law practice in Akure , Ondo State.

Political career
Omoboriowo was a member of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and became deputy governor to Ajasin between 1980 and 1983.

He, however, parted ways with his boss  prior to the 1983 general election, which culminated in  his defection to the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN, where he was declared winner of the violent election by the  then Federal Electoral Commission, FEDECO.

Omoboriowo’s declaration elicited a bloodbath and serious attacks in some notable towns in the old Ondo State before the Supreme Court sitting then in Lagos State upturned his victory and declared Ajasin, candidate of UPN as the authentic winner of the election.

The former  governor of  Ekiti State, Dr. Ayodele Fayose, appointed him as Pro-Chancellor  and Chairman of the Governing Council of the then University of Ado- Ekiti (now Ekiti State University) in 2003.

Fayemi, Oni  mourn
Reacting to the death, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, described the death of the former Deputy Governor of old Ondo State, as a big loss to the state, the Yoruba race and the nation at large.

He said the late politician was a “consummate nationalist, respected statesman and a great defender of Ekiti interests.”
Fayemi, in a statement yesterday, said Omoboriowo’s death had robbed the state of a father, committed patriot and elder statesman who contributed immensely to the evolution and development of the state.

He expressed regret that Omoboriowo’s demise came at a time the state was yet to recover from the loss of another eminent citizen, Professor Sam Aluko.

Fayemi recalled the contributions of Omoboriowo to the development of old Ondo State which now comprises Ekiti and Ondo Ssates, stressing that he was part of the legacies of the Adekunle Ajasin-led administration on which the progressive governments in the Southwest were trying to build upon.

The governor recalled the roles by the late Omoboriowo in the creation of Ekiti State which resulted in the birth of a new state on October 1, 1996. Fayemi also lauded the contributions of the late former deputy governor to the development of the then University of Ado-Ekiti, UNAD, now Ekiti State University, EKSU, where he served  as Chancellor.

Similarly, National Vice- Chairman (Southwest) of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Segun Oni, has commiserated with the people of the state and family of the late Chief Omoboriowo, describing the death as painful.
Oni, while reacting to Omoboriowo’s death through his media aide, Mr Lere Olayinka, said the death was a huge loss to Ekiti State in particular and Nigeria in general.

Deserving burial
According to him, “I received the death with shock because Baba was not particularly sick. I saw him a little while ago and we always see him regularly. However, I know that Baba departed this world at the time appointed by God and all we can do is to first celebrate him as our leader, father and foremost patriot, who never shifted his attention away from the development of Ekiti. I want to urge everybody to come around when the time comes to give Baba a deserving burial. I also implore the family to take solace in the fact that Baba lived a fulfilled life and pray that will console them.”