Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has expressed “deep sense of regrettable loss” over the death of the late Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Commissioner representing South West, Prof. Akinola Muritala Salau.
Salau, a former Vice Chancellor of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, died at Turkish Hospital in Abuja after a brief illness on Saturday.
The 67-year-old was buried according to Islamic rites at the Muslim Cemetery, Moniya, Ibadan, on Sunday evening.
In a personal message made available to QED, Ajimobi described the late Salau as a blessing to this great state.
His words: “His laudable efforts at ensuring that the state’s joint-owned university, LAUTECH attained the enviable height of the best state university in Nigeria whilst he was the Vice-Chancellor between July 1999 and May 2005 can never be forgotten in the history of the state.
“Prof. Salau contributed his knowledge to the development of his home state (Oyo) by sitting on the boards of parastatals and schools.
“The late scholar and administrator was a forthright, dedicated, focused and humane leader. Certainly, the vacuum his demise has created will be difficult to fill but we take solace in the fact that he has lived a truly remarkable and rewarding life.
“As a government representing the people, we pray that God will rest his soul and give his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”
Salau was born on November 21, 1947, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He attended Islamic High School, Orita Bashorun, Ibadan on Western Region Scholarship between 1960 and 1964, and proceeded to University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Osun State to study Physics on Federal Government Scholarship where he graduated in 1971.
His passion for education took him to Stanford University Palo –Alto Ca94305, USA, where he obtained his Master of Science and Ph. D degrees in Applied Physics in 1974 and 1976, respectively.
He was Sole Administrator, LAUTECH from June 15, 1997, to July 5, 1999. He became Acting Vice Chancellor of the school on July 6, 1999 and he was confirmed as substantive Vice Chancellor on May 23, 2000, where he was till May 22, 2005.
Salau was sworn-in by former President Goodluck Jonathan on January 7, 2015, as INEC National Commissioner, representing the South West, the position he held till his demise.
A devoted Muslim, the deceased was survived by his wife and children.
