By Ayodele Oni
South-west Governors Forum has pledged to constitute a Committee to plan a befitting burial for late Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who died on Wednesday.
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, disclosed this while speaking on behalf of the Southwest Governors during a condolence visit to the wife and family of the deceased governor at his Jericho private residence in Ibadan, Oyo state on Friday.
He noted that the Governors of the Southwest will ensure that Mr Akeredolu’s is given the respect and honour he deserves.
“We will accord Akeredolu a burial that will be befitting of a great statesman and one of the leading lights of the southwest region.
“Collectively, we will be majorly responsible for his funeral rites per the farewell that he deserves.
“We will be setting up a joint committee of the southwestern states to work with the family and collaborate with the government of Ondo State to ensure that we give him a deserving funeral.”
Governor Abiodun, who had earlier described the late Akeredolu as a courageous individual whose vacuum will be difficult to fill, further said: “We are all here, governors of the south-west states, Governor Osun, Ekiti, Oyo, and Lagos.”
“He will soon be here; he has some flight issues. We are here to commiserate with the Akeredolu family and also the Ondo State government on the passing of our senior colleague and brother, His Excellency, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, who the Lord has called his side.”
“Without a doubt, we are all still in a state of shock and disbelief. Governor Akeredolu was the Chairman, South-West Governors Forum, Chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, a position that he held and led very courageously, very fearlessly, as a learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a successful second term governor of Ondo State.
“All of us are here on behalf of our families, the entire Southwestern states, to commiserate with the family and people of Ondo State. Our prayers are that the Almighty God will forgive his sins and grant him eternal repose.”
“We also pray for the wife, children, family members, and the entire government of Ondo State to bear this very sad, shocking, and painful exit.
“This is a man who was an advocate for a southern presidency; we could recall vividly the reinvigorated Southern Governors Forum meeting in Delta State about two and a half years ago.
“He championed that cause that the southern presidency should come from the South, and he stayed with it among several causes that he championed successfully.
“Governor Akeredolu will be sorely missed by all of us. The void that he left will be very difficult for everyone to fill.”
The governors, Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), were led by the deputy governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Lawal, to the Jericho residence of the deceased governor.
