Papa Ajasco stand-in character, Femi Ogunrombi, is dead

A veteran Nollywood actor, Femi Ogunrombi, who was a stand-in character for Papa Ajasco has died.

Dr Shaibu Husseini, a theatre practitioner, journalist and lecturer, announced the death of the veteran, on his Twitter page on Sunday.

“I have just been reliably informed that the ethnomusicologist, former music instructor with @NATIONALTROUPE and one-time stand-in for the ‘Papa Ajasco’ character on the popular @waleadenugaprod Comic Series ‘Papa Ajasco’ Mr. Femi Ogunrombi is DEAD,” he tweeted.

Mr Mayowa Adenekan, a digital journalist and talent manager, while also sharing the news on the social media, said the late actor was a stand-in actor when the first Papa Ajasco character pulled out.

 “Veteran actor Femi Ogunrombi AKA Papa Ajasco is dead. I see a lot of people using images of the first papa Ajasco, Mr Abiodun Ayoyinka, but the one that died is Mr Femi Ogunrombi, the one that took over the character when Mr Abiodun Ayoyinka pulled out of the show. May his soul RIP,” he said.

Ogunrombi, a multi-instrumentalist, music teacher, composer, actor, producer and director of music/film studied music and drama at Obafemi Awolowo University.

He founded and conducted a choral group called The Ayoro Voices. This group was the cultural image of OAU between 1980 and 1983 respectively.

In 1994, Ogunrombi joined the National Troupe of Nigeria as music instructor. By 1998, he rose to the position of director of music. He inaugurated and conducted the National Choir and in 1998, left government employment to pursue his own music business.

In 2006, Ogunrombi joined the popular TV comedy programme as Papa Ajasco. Papa Ajasco and Company was created by Wale Adenuga Productions. Ogunrombi at the same time became the Coordinator of Studies for Adenuga’s PEFTI Film Institute.