All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, was Monday, at the residence of late activist and writer, Yinka Odumakin, on a condolence visit to his wife, Mrs Joe Okei-Odumakin.
Odumakin, the spokesman for pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, died Saturday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Covid Isolation Centre.
He was a noted critic of Tinubu and many other politicians, especially those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the country.
He was a notable advocate of restructuring, fiscal federalism, decentralised policing, which he saw as solutions to the country’s endemic socio-economic challenges.
Tinubu had, earlier in a statement on Saturday, explained Nigeria’s democracy story would not be complete without mentioning Odumakin.
He had recalled the contribution of Odumakin to the June 12 struggle after the annulment of the election won by MKO Abiola.
The former governor in the statement titled, ‘Tinubu Condoles With the Family of Yinka Odumakin’ had said, “In the struggle against the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election and the perpetuation of military dictatorship, Odumakin was never found wanting.
“He was at the vanguard of the battle even at the risk of his life and liberty. It is impossible to credibly tell the story of the emergence of the democracy we enjoy in this dispensation today without emblazoning Odumakin’s name in gold.
“He was a doughty fighter for freedom and the rule of law. He was rock solid in his commitment to Afenifere, the Yoruba people and the several other civil society groups in which he played active roles," Tinubu said.
Tinubu further described the late Afenifere Spokesman as a sincere man who always put Nigeria first despite their political differences.
“In the course of the last two and a half decades, Odumakin and I had cause to collaborate in various organisations and in pursuit of different political causes at different times and I can testify to his capacity for hard work, his brilliance, his tenacity in his loyalty to his cherished principles.
“Even if we differed politically, I had no cause to doubt his sincerity in charting his chosen path. He will forever remain a model of what a citizen who places the good of his country above his personal interest could be,” Tinubu said.
