Late former Ekiti Deputy Gov, Egbeyemi, Celebrated

By Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

The Ado-Ekiti Trustees Committee yesterday eulogised and celebrated the life and times of the former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State and one of the strong pillars of the Committee from inception, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi who died March 18, 2023.

The Ado-Ekiti Trustees Committee, in a statement signed by its chairman, Dr. Adepoju Ajayi, the Secretary General, Dr. Jadesola Taiwo Babatola and the Public Relations Officer (PRO) CSP Dolapo Badmus, said the demise of Egbeyemi as an irreversible and painful loss to Ado-Ekiti people and Ekiti State as a whole.

They eulogised the iconic and illustrious Ado-Ekiti chieftain as a frontline Nigerian lawyer and notable politician in his lifetime who served his monarch and the best interest of the entire Ado Ekiti community with vigour, unflinching devotion, and honesty without blemish.

The committee extolled the attributes of Egbeyemi as a political and community leader, noting that he was a role model whose positive roles spurred many notable indigenes of Ado-Ekiti to associate with the Ewi’s Palace and to regularly consult and take steps to contribute towards developmental projects and various activities geared towards the development of Ado Ekiti as a mega city.

In praying for the repose of the soul of the elder statesman and iconic political leader who became a point of reference through his varied support for the Ewi’s throne since the emergence of Alayeluwa Oba Dr. Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III, they called on all Ado- Ekiti sons and daughters to make it a duty to participate in the funeral activities organised for the late deputy governor.

The committee prayed that the wife and children he left behind and his political family would continue to wax stronger and stand as a good reference point to emulate in the community.

Giving out the bio data of the late politician, the statement explained:” Egbeyemi attended his elementary and modern school education in Ekiti and worked as a laboratory assistant and bursar in a Grammar School in Ekiti from 1969 to 1972 while pursuing his West Africa School Certificate Examination as a private student in the Ordinary and Advanced Levels.”

“He later became an alumnus of the University of Lagos College of Education

where he studied Biology and Physical Education and passed with Distinctions.

Still determined to pursue a more dignifying profession, he proceeded to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife where he studied Law and graduated in 1980 before moving to the Nigerian Law School prior to his call to bar as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1981.”

As a charismatic youth and community leader, he served as the President of the Physical Education Students Association of the University of Lagos College of Education in 1974 and the President of the Law Students Association at Ife University in 1978.

“He was also the Youth Leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria in Ondo State during the Second Republic and got elected as a member of the

State House of Assembly in 1983 before the military returned to power.

Otunba Egbeyemi was later elected as Chairman of Ado-Ekiti Local Government and performed creditably well endearing him to the people’s heart at the grassroots.

The new King’s Market behind Ewi’s Palace which he expanded and modernized quickly became known as OJA BISI while he was upgraded by the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti as the Otunba of Ado-Ekiti.

During the administration of Governor Niyi Adebayo in Ekiti State, Otunba Egbeyemi served as the Commissioner for Education and later as the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General.

“He was an industrious Entrepreneur with business diversification in hospitality and table water manufacturing among others. He also served as a Director of Owena Motels and Odua Investment Company Limited between 2010 and 2014.

“He contested as Deputy Governor of Dr. Kayode Fayemi in the 2018 election under the All Progressive Congress and won the election. No doubt, his choice by the party was due to his popularity in Ado Ekiti and in Ekiti as a whole.

He remained a committed church leader at the Cathedral of Emmanuel, Okesa, Ado-Ekiti, and a notable adviser and confidant of the throne of Ewi of Ado-Ekiti.”