Guardian

THE chairman of Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Shamsudeen Abiodun Olaleye, has described the death of sport icon, Deacon Ayo Ositelu, as an irreparable loss to Nigerian sports journalism.

Ositelu died at Topaz Hospital on Wednesday night after he took ill at about 7:30 pm, while watching Tinsel, a soap opera on television.

Olaleye, who expressed shock over the sad incident, said the former Group Sports Editor of the defunct Concord Newspaper would be sorely missed in the sport writing fraternity where ‘Arena’ as Ositelu was fondly called, had made remarkable contribution, particularly in tennis, a sport in which the departed journalist was an authority.

“His death came as a big shock because he seemed hail and hearty. He has left his footprints in the sands of time not only as a frontline sports journalist but also as an astute politician. He was an active member of our great party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). We would surely miss him. We pray for the repose of his departed soul,” the council chief stated.

Also, Chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Michael Adegoke has commended the late Ayo Ositelu for the good work he did as the pioneer chairman of the Council.

Adegoke described the late Ositelu has an excellent administrator who ran an all-inclusive government when he led the council from 2004 to 2007. He said that he endeared himself to friends and foes alike, which accounted for why many came to condole with his family.

He also said that the late administrator was committed to the development of the council hence the institution of programmes that touched the lives of the people.

“He was a thoroughbred administrator and that is why many people are here to condole with his family,” he added.

The ACN stalwart, who was one of the late Ositelu’s special advisers, noted that Ositelu was also a philanthropist who was always willing to help people irrespective of their place of origin.