Published 27th Dec, 2023

On Wednesday, news broke that Rotimi Akeredolu, the Executive Governor of Ondo State, had passed away at the age of 67.

Akeredolu died after treating leukaemia and prostrate cancer for an extended period, becoming one of only four governors to have died while in service. Like Akeredolu, one of the other three was also a victim of leukaemia.

PATRICK IBRAHIM YAKOWA

Patrick Yakowa was the Governor of Kaduna State until his death in December 2012. He was killed in a helicopter crash that happened while he was travelling from Bayelsa to Port Harcourt.

Yakowa became the governor of Kaduna in 2011 after he won the state elections on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

He contested in the Kaduna State elections after Namadi Sambo, a former Vice President of Nigeria, was picked as ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s running mate.

Yakowa only served as governor for two years, and at the time of his death, he was 64.

MAMMAN BELLO ALI

Similar to Akeredolu, Mamman Bello, a former governor of Yobe State, died of leukaemia in 2009 while still serving as governor.

He was elected to power under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007.

Before his governorship seat, he represented the Yobe South Senatorial District in the Senate, where he was also the chairman of the committee on public account for eight years.

SHEHU KANGIWA

Shehu Kangiwa was the first elected governor of the old Sokoto in Nigeria’s second republic. He became governor after contesting under the flag of the now-defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

Like Yakowa who spent two years in office, Kangiwa was only in office between October 1979 and November 1981.

He died in 1981 after he fell off a horse while playing polo during the 1981 edition of the Georgian League.

He is often remembered as the governor who brought remarkable landmarks to the Old Sokoto State which has since been divided into Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara.

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