By Mayowa Olumuyiwa
Former Governor of old Ondo State Evangelist Bamidele Olomilua who died on Thursday at the age of 80 has been described as a true leader by the immediate past Governor Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.
Mimiko, in a personally condolence message to the family of the deceased, said the late elderstateman, whom he described as his political benefactor, will be sorely missed .
The statement reads:
“I have just made calls to the immediate family members of my leader, consummate politician, humanist, man of faith, and a lover of the masses, Evangelist Bamidele Isola Olumilua, who passed away in the early hours of today.
My words to them were words of consolation, of encouragement and of solidarity. Though of age, the death of a dear one must be deeply sorrowful, when the departed is as wonderful, humane, astute and profound in thoughts and wisdom, the pain becomes much more riveting. His wives and children who lived and shared most moments of his earthly sojourn therefore deserve our words of consolation as the facts of his departure and the weight of the demise sink in.
I encourage his children and wives to take stock and prepare to carry on with confidence and on the deeply remarkable legacies of their patriarch.
I solidarise with them as men and women of faith, that the loss was a gain to heaven, to God. Because as the saying goes, those whom God loves, he calls to himself.
Evangelist Olumilua was to me, a true leader. Ours was a relationship that was never broken by partisanship, time and/or location. He remained true to his leadership roles to me till the end and I valued him like a true political beneficiary.
While time is not yet ripe to write of his indelible contribution to my political history, my family and I wish to extend our condolences to his immediate and extended family members, political and religious associates, the people and government of Ekiti State and all lovers of social democratic governance, a cause to which the late Olumilua devoted most part of his adult life.
He will be solely missed”.
It would be recalled that Mimiko was a Commissioner in the cabinet of late Olumilua while the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, another former governor of Ondo State, was Olumilua’s deputy during his tenure in the then botched third republic between 1992 to 1993.
