By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The sad news of former Ekiti State Commissioner for Lands and one time Government House director in old Ondo State, Alhaji Yakubu Oladoro Sanni, has been announced.
His close friend and ally particularly in the Islamic matters, Attah of Ayede Kingdom, Oba Alhaji AbdulMumini Adebayo Orisagbemi, broke the news of his death in an exclusive telephone conversation with The DEFENDER Wednesday morning, putting his age at 74.
Oba Orisagbemi described the death of Alhaji Sanni, whom he called a great Islamic personality and contributor of progress, as a shocking and “very, very sad”.
Alhaji Yakubu Sanni was also the immediate past Chairman, Ekiti State Muslim Council. Also confirming his death to this globally read online newspaper, Alhaji Tajudeen Adejumo, who was Secretary to the Ekiti State Muslim Council under him, said he died around 10pm Tuesday night.
Alhaji Adejumo said, “Alhaji Yakubu Sanni’s death is shocking to me because he still spoke with earlier on Tuesday only for me to be told last night that he had died. He was a great man and his death is a great loss to us in Ekiti State and the Muslim Ummah in general. He was very, very fearless.”
According to him, the late former Commissioner will be buried at his home town of Iworoko Ekiti, at 4pm today, in accordance with the Islamic rites.
Alhaji Sanni, who was Special Assistant to the former Deputy Governor of Old Ondo State, Dr. Musa Adebayo Ayeni, during the military administration of Navy Captain Sunday Olukoya, had his civil service appointment transferred when Ekiti State was created by Head of State General Sani Alhaji Abacha on October 1, 1996.
Upon arriving in Ekiti, he was promoted to the position of Director in then young Ekiti State Civil Service and rose later to become one of the Permanent Secretary having attained the peak of his career in the service in 2003 when Chief Segun Oni became the second Civillian Governor of the state.
It is worth of mentioning that under 24 hours of retiring from service as Permanent Secretary and considering the brilliant contributions he had made to the public service during his days, Alhaji Yakubu Oladoro Sanni because sighted by Governor Segun Oni as a retired civil servant that must not be tired and appointed him as his Commissioner for Lands.
Until his death, Alhaji Yakubu Oladoro Sanni was Vice President, Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries, Ekiti State Chapter. Recently, he was appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees/Elder Council of the Muslim Ummah South West Nigeria (MUSWEN).
