Jide Adebayo, an ex-commissioner for information, youth, sports and culture in Kwara State and a former acting managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has died at the age of 66.
Adebayo died in a Lagos hospital on Thursday following a brief illness, his close friend Retired Maj.-Gen. Lasisi Abidoye announced this in a statement on Friday.
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Abidoye, who is also the president of Omu-Aran Development Association (ODA), described Adebayo as “a fine journalist and a community leader par excellence, who will be greatly missed.”
Until his death, Adebayo was the Eesa of Omu-Aran, second-in-command to the traditional ruler of the community, which is equivalent to the position of prime minister of Omu-Aran.
Adebayo began his journalism career with the Nigerian Herald newspapers in Ilorin, Kwara State in 1974.
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As an international journalist of repute, Adebayo covered many international assignments including the FIFA Under-21 World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 1989, Inter-Continental FIFA Championship in Saudi Arabia in 1995, FIFA World Cup in Paris in France, in 1998 and the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK in 2002.
A fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (FNGE), Adebayo was general secretary, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Kwara (1981-1983) and chairman of NUJ, Niger (1985 -1987).
He is survived by his wife Alice Ifedun (nee Adeleye) and children and grandchildren.
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