Obadiah Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and a former Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2019 general election is dead.
Mailafia, who was a columnist with The PUNCH newspaper was said to have died at midnight after a brief illness at the age of 64.
Obadiah Mailafia was a known Government critic and had advocated for public sector and exchange rate reforms. He stirred controversy after he granted an interview accusing most top Government officials of sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria.
Mailafia who recently lamented that Nigeria was operating a “dollarised” economy which was hampering economic growth was born on December 24, 1956, in the Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
He later graduated top of his class at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1978 with a B.Sc.
Honours Social Sciences degree (Politics, Economics, and Sociology). He also has an M.Sc. from the same institution.
Fani-Kayode confirmed his death on his Twitter page wrote: “I am saddened by the passing of my dear friend & brother Mr. Obadiah Mailafia who was one of the most powerful and progressive voices in our country. I was informed that he passed on this morning. He was a great nationalist, a believer in Nigeria, a kind and gentle soul.”
The cause of his death was still unknown as at press time.
