An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the Ondo governorship election Paul Akintelure is dead.
The spokesperson of the APC in Ondo State Alex Kalejaye confirmed the incident in a telephone conversation with Channels Television early Tuesday.
While the cause of his death is still unknown, Akintelure’s demise came days after the medical doctor turned politician raised an alarm about threats to his life.
“Initially, I hope these incidents would dissipate over time, yet regrettably, they have escalated to pose a serious threat to my life,” his spokesman Oladapo Akintelure said in a March 21 statement.
“The threats against me only strengthen my resolve to stand up for what is right and just. I will not allow fear to dictate our path forward.
“Let us embrace peace, progress, and unity. Our collective strength lies in standing together as one, regardless of our differences.”
The late Akintelure had in 2012 ran as the deputy governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) with Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
Before then, he contested for the Ondo South senatorial election also under the ACN.
He was a Lagos-based private medical practitioner who hailed from Igbotako in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Tributes Pour In for Akintelure
Meanwhile, tributes are already coming in for the deceased. The Ondo APC said it is saddened by the news of Akintelure’s death.
“The State Chairman Engr. Ade Adetimehin who described the deceased as a personal friend, with whom he had a good relationship over the years, said the news is shocking,” the Ondo APC chairman said.
“Akintelure was a highly refined and consistent political figure, whose position was that the essence of being in politics is to build the people and the land.
“The contributions of the departed political leader, to the development and stability of the Ondo State chapter of APC will not be forgotten.”
On its part, the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers (LACO-FS) described the death as painful and benumbing.
“We grieve for this sudden passage of our great leader Dr. Paul Akintelure whose contributions to not just APC but above all, party politics and democracy in Nigeria, cannot be quantified,” the organisation’s convener Oladipupo Okeyomi said in a statement issued through the LACO-FS State Director of Information Kayode Fasua.
The campaign organisation while commiserating with the family of the deceased, said it has suspended its itinerary for the week in honour of the departed leader.
