President Bola Tinubu and Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State have congratulated journalist Shola Oshunkeye on his 70th birthday.
Mr Oshunkeye, a former managing director and editor-in-chief of The Sun Publishing Ghana Limited and 2006 CNN Multichoice African Journalist of the Year overall winner, turned 70 on Monday, April 20, 2026.
In a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu praised Oshunkeye’s contributions to the struggle for the restoration of democracy and accountable governance in Nigeria, as well as to the development of journalism.
The president noted Oshunkeye’s pursuit of truth across Nigeria and Africa, which led to his award for the investigative report Niger’s Graveyard of the Living.
Oshunkeye, a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, has served as editor of Weekend Concord, senior associate editor of TELL magazine, general editor at The Sun Group, managing director and editor in chief of The Sun Publishing Ghana Limited, and president and chief executive officer of The Crest Online.
Governor Adeleke also congratulated Oshunkeye in a statement issued by his spokesman Olawale Rasheed, describing him as an international journalist who has brought honour to the state, Nigeria and Africa.
The governor recalled Oshunkeye’s role in the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12, 1993 mandate given to Moshood Abiola and the return to democratic governance in 1999.
He also noted Oshunkeye’s reporting from Niger Republic in 2005 on a humanitarian crisis caused by drought and famine, which led to the award-winning story.
Born in Ilesa, Osun State on April 20, 1956, Oshunkeye began his journalism career in 1989 at Concord Press of Nigeria, owned by the late Abiola, and worked at Weekend Concord under Mike Awoyinfa. He later succeeded Awoyinfa as editor.
At TELL magazine, he worked as an investigative journalist and later served as bureau chief and State House correspondent in Abuja, covering the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo between 2001 and 2005.
“It is because of his meritorious service to the nation that I and my good people of Osun State celebrate this amazing son of Ijesaland, and congratulate his wife, Funsho, and their beautiful children, on this landmark,” Adeleke said.
“Oshunkeye is a precious gift to us in Osun State. May the good Lord continue to preserve him and bless him and his family,” he added.
