7 facts about Cornelius Adebayo – former Governor of Kwara state

Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, a former governor of Kwara State, senator, and minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has passed away at the age of 84. 

Tribune Online reports that the former governor’s demise was announced on Wednesday by one of his children, Cornelius Oluwasegun Adebayo, on behalf of the family, in a statement titled ‘PASSAGE OF CHIEF C. O. ADEBAYO.’

“With profound sadness but gratitude to God, we announce the passing of our father and grandfather, Chief Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo. Born on 24 February 1941, he died in the early hours of today, June 25,” the statement partly reads.

Below are facts about the late Cornelius Adebayo:

1. Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo was born in Igbaja, Kwara State, on 24 February 1941. He attended All Saints Anglican School, Oke-Onigbin; Provincial Secondary School; and Barewa College in Zaria.

2. He also attended Ahmadu Bello University from 1964 to 1967. Afterwards, he proceeded to the University of Ghana from 1967 to 1969. 

3. He became a lecturer in 1969 at the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, and was subsequently appointed as the head of the English Department at Kwara State College of Technology in 1973. 

4. From 1975 to 1978, he became the Commissioner for Education and Commissioner for Information and Economic Development in Kwara State. 

5. Cornelius Adebayo was elected in 1979 as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in 1983, he was also elected Governor of Kwara State but was overthrown by the military on 31 December 1983.

6. Adebayo was appointed the Minister of Communications in 2003 by the president at the time, Olusegun Obasanjo. He pushed for the privatisation of NITEL, in which he sold stakes to Huawei, Celtel, MTN, Vodacom, and Orascom. 

7. Cornelius Adebayo became the Minister of Works in 2006. The late politician was able to contribute to the educational development of Kwara State by building classrooms and other infrastructural facilities.

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