Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has mourned the death of the President, League of Imams and Alfas in Ogun State and Chief Imam of Egbaland, Sheikh Liadi Ayinde Orunsolu.
The Chief Imam died in the early hours of Tuesday at the age of 99.
Governor Abiodun, in a statement he personally signed on Tuesday afternoon, sent his condolences to the people of Egbaland, Ogun and the Muslim Ummah.
The governor described Orunsolu’s death as a great loss to the state and noted that the late Chief Imam spent his days praying and teaching values and precepts of the Quran.
‘Baba Orunsolu lived a pious, worthy and highly commendable life that will be remembered by posterity. I urge all Muslims in the state to immortalise him by living the virtues of love, peace, and good neighbourliness he lived and propagated,’ the governor said.
He added that the death of the late cleric marked the end of an era and a great personal loss.
‘I will personally miss his warmth and candour. He always spoke truth to power and was a huge pillar and supporter of our administration. We were like father and son and he never related with me as a governor. He was brutally frank on issues concerning the people and the well-being of our state.
‘The fact that Chief Imam died after the successful completion of the 2020 Ramadan fasting and Eid celebration at a grand old age of 99, indicates Allah’s pleasure with him. He was unpretentious about what he preached and practised, and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his forthrightness.’
‘I pray that Allah would grant the soul of the departed good rest in Aljannah Firdaus and comfort his family,’ Abiodun concluded in the statement.