Alex Akinyele lived a fulfilled life, will be missed ― Bode George

Former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has expressed sadness over the death of former Minister of Information, Chief Alex Akinyele, saying the Ondo high chief was a patriot, who lived a fulfilled life, stripped of rancour and always friendly.

He added that Akinyele would be missed.

Akinyele died on Thursday after a brief illness at the age 81.

George, who is also the Atona Oodua of the Yorubaland, said this in a statement titled: “Alex Akinyele: A Passage,” a copy which was made available to newsmen in Lagos on Saturday, even as he recalled that the former minister was one of his “informal advisers” when he was privileged to be the military governor of the old Ondo State from 1987 to 1990.”

“He struck me as an ebullient man; full of energy, vibrant, gregarious, loud in genial conviviality.

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“He was a man of culture, proud of his heritage, indifferent to the stings of malice, stoic and unmoved by the taunts of envy, woven in a world of his own, regaled in an orbit defined by boisterous affability and what others may perceive as dramatic, instinctive showmanship,” Chief George said.

The PDP chieftain further described the deceased, who was nicknamed “Baba Aleco” as not only an enigma, but a genuine, sincere, and distinct, declaring: “He was an amiable elephant you couldn’t miss in any particular space.”

“Student activist, public relations icon, Minister, man of tradition and a patriot, Akinyele lived a fulfilled life, stripped of rancour, always friendly, boundless in boldness, firm and sure, latched to a world of personal wonder and attractiveness.

“He will be sorely missed. Goodbye and goodnight, an enigma nicknamed “Baba Aleco.” May you find eternal peace in the repose of the good Lord,” he further said.