By Precious Owolabi, Ado-Ekiti

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed condolences on the death of the former Military Administrator of Bayelsa State, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd).

The late Olubolade, also a former Minister of Police Affairs and former governorship aspirant in the state, passed on Sunday at the age of 70.

Oyebanji, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, mourned the demise of the former Minister of Police Affairs, saying, “Ekiti has lost a great son who made an indelible impact in his military career, public service, and politics.”

He described Olubolade’s death as a huge loss not only to Ekiti, his home state, but to Nigeria — a country he served with distinction during his stellar military career and as a distinguished politician and public servant.

The governor noted that the late Navy Captain Olubolade’s legacies would forever be remembered in Bayelsa State, where he helped lay a solid foundation for the development of the South-South state, and also at the federal level where he served as a Minister in three different ministries.

According to Oyebanji, the late Navy Captain Olubolade shone like a glittering star as Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Minister of Special Duties, and later as Minister of Police Affairs during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He noted that the deceased’s foray into politics after his retirement from the military was borne out of a desire to serve and contribute to the development of Ekiti State, where he ran for the governorship position on the platforms of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), and later, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The Governor described the deceased as an apostle of politics without bitterness, who believed in the Ekiti project and worked assiduously with other patriots for the development of the state.

He prayed that God would grant the immediate family, friends, and associates of the deceased, the people of Ipoti Ekiti, as well as the entire people of the state, the fortitude to bear the great loss.

“On behalf of the government and good people of Ekiti State, I express condolences to the children and members of the immediate and extended families of the late Navy Captain Olubolade on the demise of this illustrious Ekiti leader, and pray that God grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss and grant the departed eternal rest,” the governor added.