From Toluwa Agboluaje, Ibadan
Late Akinyele
A former Chief Press Secretary to the late Governer Bola Ige of old Oyo State and Agba Akin Olubadan of Ibadanland , Oloye Lekan Alabi and the Oyo State Chapter of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) haverned the demise of former Minister of Information, Chief Alex Akinyele who passed on yesterday.
Alabi who is the first Culture Ambassador of the National Museum and Monument,Ile-Ife, said: “I received the news of the death of Chief Alex Akinyele, with sadness.The late Chief Akinyele, a former Public Relations Director of the Nigeria Customs, President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR)and former Minister of Information, among other national and international public offices, was hard to ignore in competence, flair, delivery and style. He was cut for all his public and private roles, and he made good marks in them all. He never bored grudges.
“He was my senior in the PR profession, and I am proud to say that I deservedly won a Medal for Professionalism in PR, dedicated by him to the NIPR. I loved, and will forever love, his ebullience, dress sense and great gift of a sense of humour. May his noble soul rest in peace. Amen”.
On its part the Oyo State Chapter of NIPR through its General Secretary, Mr. Adesegun Adetola ,said: “NIPR Oyo State Chapter received the news of PR icon, Chief Alex Akinyele with utmost shock as the late Chief Akinyele was the face of NIPR. He represented what NIPR stands for absolutely. Chief Akinyele will surely be missed by the entire NIPR family, both within and outside the country.
“Chief Akinyele was one of the few PR Professionals that brought recognition and dignity to the profession in Nigeria and lived his life in accordance with the PR ethics till his demise”.
Also, a veteran broadcaster and former Nigerian Ambassador to Philippines, Dr. Yemi Farounbi said: “It’s sad, he brought so much class and substance into public relations. As the Director of Public Relations of the Nigerian Customs Service, he gave a bright human face to the Service. He did everything possible to elevate to a professional status, with code of practice to guide practitioners and a body of knowledge that practitioners must acquire. It was not surprising that he became the National President of NIPR. He was later to become a Honorable Minister of Information.
“In spite of the military environment in which he functioned, his words could be trusted. He brought his personal charm, enormous good will to create a definite image for the Government that he served. He was a man that was easily accessible, in and out of office. He was a man with high and elegant taste. In my personal interaction with him over decades, I found him to be friendly, easygoing and more importantly an equal passionate lover of Nigeria, Yoruba and his Ondo City, his home place”.
