Adieu Constituted Authority – Five interesting facts about Ajimobi

The death of the former governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has sparked a wild range of reactions.

Daily Trust had reported that Ajimobi died at a private hospital in Lagos after being on a life support machine for some days.

• Former Oyo governor, Ajimobi to be buried Friday
• APC crisis: Ajimobi confirms appointment as acting chairman, calls for peace

Until his death, Ajimobi was announced as the Acting Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, last week, after the Court of Appeal upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole.

The following are  five interesting facts about him:

Background

He was born on December 16, 1949, into the family of Ajimobi of Oja-Oba, Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria. His father was a member of the House of Assembly of the Old Western Region.

He had his primary education at Saint Patricks Primary School, Oke-Padre in Ibadan while he also obtained his degrees in Business Administration and Finance, Operations Research and Marketing at the State University of New York, in Buffalo and Governors State University, University Park, Illinois respectively.

Ajimobi, before venturing into politics worked with Shell International Oil Company between 1987 to 2003.

Politics

He, under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy, served as Senator representing Oyo South from 2003 to 2007. He was at this time, the minority leader of the Senate.

In 2007, he contested for the governorship election in Oyo state under the platform of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), but he lost to the PDP candidate, Senator Rasheed Ladoja.

In 2011, he won the governorship election under the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

He was also re-elected for second term in 2015 making him the first governor in the history of Oyo State to complete a two-term in office.

Constituted Authority

In 2017, he became an internet sensation when he confronted the students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) for protesting the closure of their school over unpaid salaries.

The incident earned him a nickname, ‘constituted authority’ which was derived from his remark.

Failure to return to senate

In 2019, Ajimobi lost the Oyo South senatorial district seat to Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Kola Balogun.

He was however appointed the Deputy Chairman (South) of the APC in March 2020.

‘Acting Chairman’ APC

He was named as the acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole.