All is set for the burial of Lam Adesina, erstwhile governor of Oyo State, who died this morning at St. Nicholas Hospital in neighbouring Lagos State. Lam (full name Alhaji Lamidi Onaolapo Adesina) was a devout Muslim and must be buried within hours of his death as dictated by his religion. He governed Oyo, located in Nigeria’s South-West, from 1999 to 2003 under the umbrella of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), now renamed Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

A National Leader of CAN, Lam (see photo) would have been 74 next January. He lately battled ill health and was admitted at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, before being moved to St. Nicholas Hospital, where he died. His burial has been set for at 4pm at his Felele, Ibadan, residence.

Governor Isiaka Ajimobi, one of lam’s students during the latter’s days as a teacher, has declared a seven-day period of mourning during which all official state functions will be suspended and the national flag flown at half mast. Governor Ajimobi in a statement issued by his Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, describing the departed progressive politician as “a dedicated patriot, foremost defender.”