Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has described the death of Mrs Tola Oyediran, the eldest daughter of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as a great loss to the state and the entire country.
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Makinde, in a condolence message to the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc.; the publishers of the Tribune titles, the Oyediran and the Awolowo families, maintained that Oyediran, who died in Ibadan on Friday, made a huge mark on the society.
He said that the deceased who was the Chairman of ANN Plc. would be remembered for her immense contributions in sustaining the legacies of the sage alongside her sister, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, also a co-chairman of the newspaper.
A statement by Mr Taiwo Adisa, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Makinde, indicated that the governor condoled with the widower, Prof. A.B.O.O. Oyediran, and his children, as well as Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, wife of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, and the Vice President himself, who holds close family ties with the departed.
The condolence message read: “The news of the death of the chairman of the ANN PLC, publishers of the Tribune titles, Revd. Tola Oyediran, came to me as a shock. I must say that it is painful, and a great loss to the state and the entire country.
“She made a huge mark as a daughter of the most respected Nigerian leader that ever was and it is clear that she and her sister, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu, did a great job in sustaining the great legacies of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
“As the Chairman of Tribune titles, following the passage of Mama HID Awolowo a few years back, Mrs Oyediran not only sustained the great legacy, she charted a new course for the oldest surviving private newspaper in Nigeria and the flagship of political journalism.
“Mrs Oyediran’s death, no doubt, is painful. Though we have a cause to celebrate her life, because she lived it well, touching lives positively; it is always painful when one loses a loved one, no matter how old such a person is.
“I know this because my mum only passed on a little over 24 hours before our amiable aunt, Mrs. Tola Oyediran, also joined the saints.
“I commiserate with the immediate family, the Tribune family, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo, and the entire Awolowo family as a whole.
“I pray that God will grant the family the fortitude to bear this loss and also grant repose to the soul of the departed.”
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