Thursday, November 7

Olusola Saraki dies at 79

Sharpedgenews.com is authoritatively reporting that the second republic senate leader, Oloye Abubarka Olusola Saraki has just died.

 

Dr Olusola Saraki, a trained medical doctor in UK died this morning at his private residence in Lagos. His remains is expected to be taken to Ilorin later today for burial according to Islamic rights

Dr. Sola Saraki was born on the 17th of May, 1933 at Ilorin, Kwara State.[1] His mother was from Iseyin in Oyo State and his father was from Ilorin. He was educated at Eko Boys High School. He attended the University of London, and St George’s Hospital Medical School, London. Having worked as a medical officer at the General Hospital, Lagos and the Creek Hospital, Lagos. He ventured into in 1964 when he ran in the parliamentary election for Ilorin as an independent candidate, but failed to win. After the election, he returned to his medical practice in Lagos, only returning to party-politics in 1977.

In 1977, OlusolaSaraki was elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly that produced the 1979 constitution. In 1979 he was elected a Senator of the Second Republic, and became Senate Leader. In 1983 Saraki was re-elected into the Senate on the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) platform.

In 1998, OlusolaSaraki became a National Leader and member of the Board of Trustees of the All People’s Party (APP), contributing to the APP success in Kwara and Kogi States. He assisted Mohammed AlabiLawal in becoming Governor of Kwara State. In 2001 he was head of a team from the Arewa Consultative Forum, a Northern cultural and political group, sent to meet and discuss common goals with Northern state governors and other leaders. Later Saraki switched allegiance to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and in the 2003 elections supported his son Bukola Saraki as candidate for governor of Kwara state in April 2003, and his daughter Gbemisola R. Saraki as senator for Kwara State Central in April 2003.

In March 2003, the SocieteGenerale Bank (SGBN) of which Saraki was chairman was investigated by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for alleged money laundering. Later, SGBN was investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under NuhuRibadu, and its license was temporarily suspended..

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