Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi on Sunday described the death of a former governorship aspirant in the state, Senator Gbenga Aluko as devastating and an irreparable loss to the state.
The deceased who was one of the children of the renowned economist, the late Prof. Sam Aluko, father of the footballers Eniola and Sone, and who represented Ekiti-South District in the Senate on PDP platform, died on Saturday evening in Abuja at 58.
He later aspired to govern the state.
The Ode Ekiti born politician was said to have slumped in his office in Abuja and rushed to an undisclosed hospital.
He carved an identity for himself as a successful corporate player who got elected onto the Senate of the Federal Republic in 1999 at the age of 36.
Fayemi in a statement in Ado-Ekiti signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, said Aluko’s death was a colossal loss to the government and people of Ekiti State.
He said the late Gbenga Aluko was not only a brother and friend, but also a patriotic Ekiti indigene, whose contributions to the development of the State could not be overstated.
“I have lost a dear brother and friend. Senator Aluko’s death is not only a loss to the state but a personal loss to me, having had close and cordial relationship with the deceased spanning four decades,” he said.
Fayemi described the former governorship aspirant as a successful private sector player, refined gentleman and a decent politician who made great impact in almost every aspect of life.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), according to NAN, recalled how the deceased influenced the establishment of a Chest Clinic at the Oba Adejugbe General Hospital in Ado Ekiti, a project which he described as being of great benefit to the State’s health sector.
According to him, the deceased served selflessly in the Ekiti State COVID- 19 Response Committee.
Fayemi, who noted the deceased’s brilliance and generosity spirit, said the late Aluko served his fatherland diligently and made Ekiti proud through numerous achievements.
“Senator Gbenga Aluko invested his time, resources and energy on many laudable initiatives that impacted positively on the lives of the people.
He was always ready to support any worthy Ekiti cause with his wealth of experience and extensive national and global contacts.
“For us in Ekiti, this is a huge loss. And it is a personal loss to me.
“We, however, cannot question God but we are consoled by the fact that he lived a decent life of service and made great impact in the lives of the people. He shall be sorely missed.
“On behalf of my wife, the Government and good people of Ekiti State, I commiserate with the Aluko family and pray God to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” Fayemi said.
Born on July 20, 1963 to Prof. Sam Aluko and Dr. Joyce Aluko, both deceased, Senator Gbenga Aluko attended the University of Ife Senior Staff School, Christ School Ado-Ekiti, Federal Government College, Ilorin, University of Ife and University of Benin where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree (B.Sc) in Geography and Regional Planning. He was also at the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Oxford, England, where he had a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in International Oil Trading and Pricing in 2002.
In 1991, he joined the former Social Democratic Party (SDP) and contested the primaries of that party into the House of Representatives. In 1993, he became the Special Assistant to the then Minister of Transport and Aviation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope. He also served as the General Manager, Nigerian Shippers Council.
In 1998, he contested and won election into the House of Representatives. A year later, he contested and won election into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where he served creditably as Chief Whip, Member of Strategic Senate Committees including Finance and Appropriation, Select, National Population, INEC and Senate Services and Chairman of Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) between 1999 and 2003.
Senator Aluko was in private business in Nigeria and England where he acted as Consultant to International Organisations like the Department for International Development (DFID), a British Government Development Institution and Business Advisor to Local Entrepreneurs. He was the Executive Chairman or Director of several companies including Alsteg and Midlands Limited, Associated Logistics Limited and Crest Healthcare Limited.
Elected Senator for the Ekiti South constituency of Ekiti State, at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform, he took office on 29 May 1999.
He attended Federal Government College, Ilorin, and then was admitted to the University of Benin, graduating in 1982 with a degree in Geography and Regional Planning. He went on to the College of Energy and Petroleum Studies, Oxford, England for a Post Graduate Course in International Oil Trading and Pricing.
Positions he held between 1983 and 1999 included Managing Director/CEO of HYGYNIX, Executive Director of Baseline Petroleum and Chemicals and Executive Chairman of Independent Strategists. He was appointed Special Assistant to the Minister of Transport and Aviation and General Manager of Nigeria Shipper’s Council from 1993 to 1995.
After taking his seat in the Senate in June 1999 Aluko was appointed to committees on Selection, Senate Services (vice chairman), Aviation, Women Affairs, Finance & Appropriation, Social Development & Sports and Local & Foreign Debts. He was appointed Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate. Later he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Gas Committee and Chairman of the Petroleum Committee.
Aluko was opposed to plans to privatize the Nigerian Mint. He was appointed Chairman of an ad hoc committee to investigate the controversial closure of Savannah Bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria. In September 2002, he seconded a motion to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate alleged constitutional and budgetary breaches committed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, which could be grounds for impeachment.
In October 2002, he replaced Oserheimen Osunbor as Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission.
After leaving the Senate, Aluko continued in private enterprise, holding a controlling interest in Alstegg and Midlands, a Civil Engineering Firm and serving as a Director of Crest Healthcare, Consultant to DFID on Parliamentary Matters and Director of Government Affairs with Chevron Nigeria.
He left the PDP for the Labour Party, on which platform he unsuccessfully contested the Ekiti State governorship election in 2007. In December 2009, he returned to the PDP.
