Soji Akinkuolire, a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly (ODHSA), who represented Constituency I in the Okitipupa Division, is dead, SaharaReporters has learnt.
Soji Akinkuolire, a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly (ODHSA), who represented Constituency I in the Okitipupa Division, is dead, SaharaReporters has learnt.
Family sources told SaharaReporters that Mr. Akinkuolire popularly called "Aghando" passed away on Saturday after battling an illness for the past few days.
"Aghando (Nickname) is dead. We have deposited his body at the hospital's morgue. I will brief you on the details later", one of the sources said.
The late lawmaker represented Okitipupa Constituency I in the Ondo State Parliament between 2011 and 2015 under the defunct Labour Party (LP).
Our correspondent could not immediately ascertain the cause of the sickness, but a close ally disclosed that the deceased was "terribly" neglected" by his friends and associates mostly by political bigwigs from the Okitipupa division.
A SaharaReporters correspondent reported that the late Mr. Akinkuolire was among the disgruntled lawmakers of the Assembly in the defunct Labour Party (LP) who "cross-carpeted", alongside the embattled Governor Olusegun Mimiko, to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The deceased contested the Speakership seat of the State House of Assembly in 2014 together with Oyebo Aladetan from Ilaje Constituency I, alongside Jumoke Akindele.
During the election, the late Mr. Akinkuolire received 0 votes, Mr. Aladetan received 9 votes while Mrs. Akindele, a handpicked political god-daughter of Governor Mimiko, received 13 votes to emerge as the first female Speaker.
Mr. Akinkuolire was 56 years old, he was from Ilutitun and was an alumni of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti.