Former Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, says he was shocked by the death of Mr. Yinka Odumakin, the Afenifere spokesman on Saturday morning.

He described Mr. Odumakin as the kind of gadfly that any nation would need; indefatigable, ready to take a stand on issues, maintaining a credible constancy, instead of changing directions like a wind vane.

In a statement by Tony Eluemunor, his Media Assistant, Ibori noted that Mr. Odumakin was not among my supporters, and our paths rarely crossed, yet, that did not blind me to the fact that he was gradually becoming a credible voice for true federalism and fiscal restructuring which Nigeria needs badly. So, I always wished him well. Now, I will miss him very much.

“Recently, he had given a visible urgency to his pro-true-federalism and state police calls, taking openly on all-comers who are opposed to restructuring. Yes, Yinka Odumakin had come a long way from his University of Ife Students Union days, but he never disdained social activism. He remained an activist till the bitter end.

“Odumakin was proudly a Yoruba and a Nigerian. He wished for a better Nigeria, and was convinced that such a state would only be achieved through mutually agreed terms reached by components parts of the Federation, in the spirit of equality, egalitarianism, justice and fairness.

“Yinka and his wife, Joe, have been soulmates of the unusual kind – social justice. May God give her the fortitude to bear this irreparable lose, and grant eternal rest to Yinka’s soul.”