Veteran Nigerian politician and former governor of Kwara State, Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, has died at the age of 84.
Family sources confirmed that Adebayo passed away early Wednesday morning in Abuja.
Born on February 24, 1941, in Igbaja, Kwara State, Adebayo’s public service career spanned decades and was marked by principled leadership and staunch advocacy for democracy. He served as governor of Kwara State in 1983 and later as Nigeria’s Minister of Communications from 2003 to 2006. Earlier, he was elected to the Senate in 1979 under the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).
A key figure in Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement, Adebayo was an influential member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), the group that fiercely opposed military rule and fought for the validation of the June 12, 1993, presidential election won by MKO Abiola. In 1993, he notably declined an offer to join the cabinet of General Sani Abacha, underscoring his commitment to democratic ideals.
His activism came at a personal cost. After a bomb explosion in Ilorin on May 31, 1995, Adebayo and several other NADECO leaders were arrested and questioned by the police. Facing escalating threats, he fled into exile in Canada in 1996.
Before rising to national prominence, Adebayo served as Commissioner for Education in Kwara State from 1975 to 1978, where he introduced reforms that left a lasting impact on the sector.
He is widely remembered as a courageous and principled statesman who stood firm during one of Nigeria’s most challenging political eras.
