Wife of Oyo Commissioner dies months after him, Makinde mourns

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has described the death of Prof. Oluwakemi Ayoola, wife of late Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Kehinde Ayoola, as sad and painful.

Makinde, who made his position known in a statement he personally signed in Ibadan on Thursday, said Mrs. Ayoola’s death came as a shock.

The governor described the exit of the academic, which came barely 10 months after her husband passed on, as a great loss to the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the late professor was a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University Institute of Agriculture Research and Training, Ibadan.

While commiserating with the Ayoola’s family of Apaara Quarters, Oyo town, especially the two children of the late professor, Makinde prayed God to grant repose to the souls of the couple.

He said: “I received the news of the death of Prof. Oluwakemi Ayoola, wife of my friend and brother, Kehinde Ayoola, who died in active service to the state and I must say that it is painful and sad.

“The death of Mrs. Ayoola is particularly painful because it happened at this time when her two sons and the entire family needed her most, as a bulwark and support following the death of her husband.

“Her death is equally a loss to the state, because she has risen to the peak of her career as a professor and her wealth of experience would have benefited the state immensely.

“While commiserating with the family, I also pray to God to grant repose to the souls of Prof. Ayoola and her husband.”