A former Governor of Oyo State and a chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Christopher Alao-Akala passed on today at the age of 71.
His reported death is coming barely 24 hours after the death of a former Nigerian leader and Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan.
Alao-Akala who was a former police officer and one-time elected Chairman of Ogbomosho North Local Government Area of Oyo State, served a governor of Oyo state from 2007 to 2011 after having previously been a Deputy Governor of the state.
What you should know about Alao-Akala
Alao-Akala was born in Ogbomosho on June 3, 1950. He had his elementary education at Osupa Baptist Day School, Ogbomoso, and proceeded to the Kamina Barracks Middle School, 5th Battalion of Infantry in Tamale, Ghana.
He was enlisted as Cadet Inspector of Police in June 1974, at the Nigeria Police College, Ikeja. He was later recommended for overseas training at the Hendon Police College, in London, among others.
The former governor also participated as a Nigerian delegate at two INTERPOL conferences in Nice, France, and in Málaga, Spain. From the position of Station Officer in the Nigeria Police, he became the Administrative Officer, Federal Operations at the Force Headquarters, Lagos.
He later rose to the position of Operations Officer, FEDOPS, Lagos. He became the Personal Assistant to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police and subsequently the ADC to the Inspector-General of Police.
Alao-Akala has Diploma in Business Administration in 1998 and became a Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) Honoris Causa, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso in 2006 as well as Doctor of Science (Political Science) Honoris Causa, Lead City University, Ibadan in 2008
Alao-Akala started his political career as a member of New Dimension. He contested and won the chairmanship seat of the Ogbomoso North Local Government along with seven councilors under the platform of APP in 1998. He was elected the vice-chairman of ALGON, Oyo State Chapter between 1999 and 2002.
Alao-Akala founded the Ogbomoso Unity Forum, a political association that later joined the PDP. He was the Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government from 1999 to 2002.
He served as the Deputy Governor of Oyo State from May 2003 to January 2006. Following the impeachment of then-incumbent Governor (Rashidi Ladoja), Alao-Akala was sworn into office in January 2006 and served for 11 months. In December 2006, the impeachment was overturned by the Supreme Court, and Rashidi Ladoja was reinstated.
Alao-Akala later contested and won the governorship election in 2007 under the platform of the PDP and became the Executive Governor of Oyo State, serving a full term till May 2011.
In October 2018, he defected to the Action Democratic Party (ADP) where he won the governorship ticket to contest for the office of governor in the 2019 general elections.
