Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Samuel Adesina, this morning lost his long battle to cancer. Adesina, who had a history of cancer of the urinary bladder, died at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos.

A statement by the Ondo State Government said: “The late Speaker, during his life time, was a bridge builder, a man of integrity and a reliable team player, who placed the interest of the state above personal consideration.

“The untimely death of the Speaker occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, February 25, 2014 during a protracted battle with the cancer of the urinary bladder.

“The Ondo State Government received the news with rude shock and disbelief and commiserates with the family of the late Speaker, the state legislature as well as the entire people of the state on this irreparable loss.”

Adesina, who represented Odigbo constituency 11 in the State House, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party before he defected to the ruling Labour Party on April 8, 2010 to enable him become speaker of the assembly.

As his health worsened, he limited his public outings and could not preside over the proceedings in the assembly in the last few months.

“Mr. Adesina has also been absent in many state functions as his deputy, Mr. Dare Omiola, had been playing his role in both the assembly and government functions,” the online FrontierNews said in a past report, adding:

“In the history of Ondo State, Mr. Adesina is the first speaker that has spent three years in that position without being impeached by his colleagues.

“He is also the first legislator that would be voted by his people to represent them in the state assembly for three consecutive terms.

“He had since escaped many impeachment plots due to his closeness to the state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko who has always shielded him. Mimiko was said to have played prominent role in the election of Adesina as the speaker.”

•Photo shows late Ondo Speaker Samuel Adesina.