The Alagbaka government office in Akure, Ondo State capital, has been deserted following the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Peoples Gazette observed. 

Mr Akeredolu, who had been battling health challenges, died in the early hours of Wednesday at an undisclosed hospital, according to cabinet members who preferred to remain anonymous. 

Although the state government was yet to issue an official statement over the governor’s death, a cabinet member who confirmed it claimed he died of leukaemia – a cancer of blood-forming tissues that also hinders the body’s ability to fight infection. 

The Gazette reporter who visited the governor’s office observed that a few civil servants and government officials on the ground wore pensive moods, discussing Mr Akeredolu’s death in hush tones. 

Despite being the first working day after the Christmas holidays, it was observed that only security agents attached to the governor’s office were still at their duty post manning the entrance.

A presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who confirmed Mr Akeredolu’s death, said the governor died in Germany, where he was hospitalised. 

Mr Onanuga quoted the state Commissioner for Finance, Wale Akinteriwa, an ally of Mr Akeredolu, revealing that he died of leukaemia. 

He said, “It’s true.” 

Mr Akeredolu,67, had travelled to Germany on a medical leave but returned to Nigeria in September after spending three months there.

His condition, however, worsened amid pressure on him to hand over power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, in an acting capacity. 

The governor’s ill health had split his government, giving room for the “cabals” in the cabinet, including his son, Babajide, to hijack the administration before the intervention of President Bola Tinubu after several protests by critics and the opposition party.

Mr Akeredolu later stayed at his private residence in Ibadan, Oyo’s capital, as calls for his resignation by opposition members heated the state political space. 

Governors of Kwara and Ogun have condoled the people of the state, describing Mr Akeredolu’s death as a painful exit, especially to the members of the Governors Forum.