Otunba Alao-Akala
Ex-Oyo Gov Alao-Akala dies
Former Governor of Oyo State, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, has been reported dead in the early hours of Wednesday in Igbomoso.
Sources confirm that the former governor and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) died in his sleep after returning from Abuja late Tuesday night, and authorities could not establish the cause of death as yet.
The death of the 71-year-old ex-governor is said to have occurred exactly one month after the demise of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba (Dr.) Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III CON, CFR.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Akala was a state’s former governor between 2007 and 2011.
Records show that he served under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and then handed over power to the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
He was also a deputy governor under former governor Rashidi Ladoja, between 2003 and 2006 when Chief Ladoja was impeached and consequently became the acting governor for eleven months.
Alao-Akala was enlisted as Cadet Inspector of Police in June 1974 at the Nigeria Police College, Ikeja. He served in various capacities before he retired from the Nigeria Police as the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Logistics and Supply, Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan. Besides public service, Dr Alao-Akala is a businessman.
He was the founder and chairman of TDB Global Ventures and Parrot FM radio station, both in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Akala ventured into politics as a member of the New Dimension. He participated in the zero-party local government election of 1996 and later co-founded the UNP before its fusion with UNC to form UNCP. He participated in the Ogbomoso Federal Constituency (One) primary election of the UNCP in 1997.
He contested and won the chairmanship seat of the Ogbomoso North Local Government along with seven councillors under the platform of APP in 1998. He was elected the vice-chairman of ALGON, Oyo State Chapter between 1999 and 2002.
Alao-Akala founded the Ogbomoso Unity Forum, a political association that later joined the PDP. He was the Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government from 1999 to 2002.
He served as the Deputy Governor of Oyo State from May 2003 to January 2006. Following the impeachment of then-incumbent Governor (Rashidi Ladoja), Alao-Akala was sworn into office in January 2006 and served for 11 months.
In December 2006, the impeachment was overturned by the Supreme Court and Rashidi Ladoja was reinstated.
Alao-Akala contested and won the gubernatorial election in 2007 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and became the Executive Governor of Oyo state, serving a full term till May 2011.
On 8 December 2014, Alao-Akala defected to the Labour Party in Oyo State from the PDP and on 10 December 2014, he formally declared his intention to re-contest in the gubernatorial election of Oyo State on the platform of the Labour Party in the February 2015 general elections in Nigeria.
Alao-Akala formally defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on 16 December 2017.
