Tinubu visits Odumakin’s widow in Lagos

• Address issues deceased raised, Gbadamosi tells Buhari, ex-governor
• We lost a colleague, patriot, says ADC national chairman
• Activist’s death, setback towards restructured Nigeria, says IYC

The National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, yesterday, paid a condolence visit to Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, widow of the late activist and columnist, Yinka Odumakin.

The former Lagos State governor visited the widow at Odumakin’s Lagos residence. Tinubu had in a statement, at the weekend, said the story of Nigeria’s democracy would not be complete without mentioning Odumakin.

He recalled the contribution of Odumakin to the June 12 struggle after the annulment of the election won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola.

MEANWHILE, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2020 Lagos East Senatorial District by-election, Babatunde Gbadamosi, has asked politicians to stop pouring “empty encomiums” on Yinka Odumakin.

Gbadamosi, in a statement, said instead of the outpouring of tributes in honour of the late activist, politicians, including President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, should address the issues raised by the late Odumakin.

The PDP chieftain, who described the late Afenifere spokesman as a great asset to Nigeria and humanity, also expressed sympathy to the wife, Okei-Odumakin, adding that she will now have to speak for herself and her late husband in matters of governance, saying:

“His lovely wife is still very much with us and suffice it to say that she is a very powerful voice in her own right when it comes to human rights issues. I am not necessarily saying that Dr. Okei-Odumakin will wear her husband’s shoes but that she will now have to speak for two – herself and her late husband.”

IN a related vein, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has commiserated with Odumakin’s family. In a statement, the National Chairman of ADC, Chief Ralphs Nwosu, said Odumakin’s demise was indeed a sad Easter to remember for our southwestern brothers and sisters home and abroad, the Afenifere, the Alumni of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), the mainstream media and Nigerians as a whole.

ALSO, the umbrella body of the Ijaw youths worldwide, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), has described the death of foremost activist and spokesman of the Afenifere group, Yinka Odumakin, as a setback for the struggle for a restructured Nigeria.The IYC, through its National Spokesman, Ebilade Ekerefe, described the death of the pro-democracy activist as a shock.

The youth group said Odumakin’s death was a great loss not just to the Yoruba nation, but also to every nation within the Nigerian state fighting for the liberation and emancipation of people.