Gov Yahaya Bello: thrown into mourning Chief Enumanu Aileku

Richard Elesho/ Lokoja

The Kogi State Government has announced the death of the pioneer Secretary to the State Government Chief Andrew Enumanu Aileku.

He was 88 years old.

Aileku was the third prominent citizen of the state to die within one week, after the chief judge Justice Nasir Ajana and the president of the customary court of appeal, Ibrahim Shaibu Atadoga.

Aileku was the Secretary to the Government of Benue State before the creation of Kogi State in 1991.

The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo who made his death known in a statement commiserated with the family.

He described Aileku as a seasoned administrator and an oasis of professionalism in his heydays as a journalist and a bureaucrat, who oversaw the administrative corridors of Benue and Kogi State like a collosus.

“Born in 1932, the late Chief Aileku will be remembered for his selfless service to the people and Government of Kogi State.

“He deployed his wealth of experience to put the state on a strong footing from inception.

“It is sad that we lost the brilliant bureaucrat when the present administration is doing a lot to reposition the state in line with the global challenge of dealing with the economic fallout of the pandemic that has damaged the global economy.

“A peaceful man in his lifetime, Chief Aileku died yesterday peacefully in his sleep. He was not sick before his death.

“He will be greatly missed by his family, the people of Bassa LGA and the entire people of Kogi State.

The Government of Kogi State will collaborate with his family to ensure a befitting burial for the departed hero. Burial arrangements will be announced later.

“May God grant all the fortitude to bear the great loss.