A former Nigerian senator and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adebayo Salami, has passed on.
Senator Adebayo Salami died in the United States of America (USA) on Thursday, January 7, 2021, but the cause of his death, whether natural or an illness is yet to be ascertained, Jomog News Nigeria reports.
He represented Osun Central Senatorial District on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform at the inception of the fourth republic in 1999.
Unconfirmed report however revealed that his death might not be unconnected with COVID-19 complications.
Senator Suraju Ajibola Basiru, the lawmaker representing Osun Central in the Senate and current Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, has described the death of Bayo Salami as shocking and devastating.
Dr Basiru stated this in a condolence message to the family of the deceased politician.
According to the statement, Senator Bayo Salami was one of the pivots on which the progressives in Osun rested at the return of democracy in 1999.
“Senator Salami joined forces with the likes of Chief Bisi Akande, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others to entrench progressives politics in the Southwest and particularly, Osun.
“He was a mercurial politician whose period in the Senate laid a foundation for subsequent senators from Osun Central. We have lost a political icon,” Senator Basiru lamented.
Sympathising with the immediate and extended families of Senator Bayo Salami and the Ataoja of Osogbo, Senator Ajibola Basiru prayed Allah to accept the return of the deceased and give the family the fortitude to bear the loss.
Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has also expressed sadness.
Oyetola noted that he was sad about the demise of Salami, the Baba Adinni of Osogbo.
“This is a huge loss, not only to his family and friends, but to the people of Osogbo and Osun at large. My prayers and thoughts are with his family and the Muslim community in Osun.
“As we mourn Baba Adinni’s demise, I pray Almighty Allah to overlook his shortcomings, grant him a place in Aljannah Firdaus, and give the family and all those who mourn his demise the strength to bear this loss”, he said.
