Olaolu, son of the Senate Republic Senate Leader, Dr Olusola Saraki, said in Lagos on Wednesday that his father died of cancer.
“He has been battling cancer for about five years. He was fine this morning. He was comfortable and even said his prayers.
“He
died in the presence of one of my brothers, my mother and my two
sisters,” Olaolu told newsmen at his father’s residence on Cameron Road,
Ikoyi. “He gave up the ghost at about 6 a.m.,” he said. Meanwhile, ACN
leader Bola Tinubu has described the late Saraki as a statesman of
immense character.
“Saraki was a national hero to many of us in
this country and had greatly contributed to the freedom and political
emancipation of Nigerian democracy,” saidTinubu, who spoke with newsmen
at the Saraki residence in Lagos. “His death came as a shock but he has
lived a very fulfilling life. His death is a loss to the country.”
Tinubu
said that the country should learn Saraki’s political strategy and
maturity. “The ability to create a political platform that endures is
part of his legacies. He understood the country’s political terrain so
much and that made him contribute greatly to the evolution of democracy
and sustenance of welfare programmes.
“We have lost a man of
immense political strategy at the time Nigeria needs to promote and
further our democratisation in a free and fair election that will elect
true leaders. As a political leader and philanthropist, his
philanthropic character will be immensely missed,” he said.
In its
reaction, the South West Chapter of the Conference of Nigerian
Political Parties (CNPP) described Saraki’s death as a tremendous loss
to the nation and Kwara.
The South West Secretary of the CNPP, Mr
Austin Nnorom, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that “the late
Saraki was a nationalist. A vacuum has been created by his death,”
he said.
Credit;
Leadership Newspaper
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