Murtala Ajaka, the All Progressives Congress’ deputy national publicity secretary, said on Sunday that the party had suffered a significant loss with the passing of Kemi Nelson, the party’s zonal women leader. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s APC presidential candidate, Nelson, a party chieftain in Lagos, is said to have passed away on Sunday at the age of 66 following a brief illness. Many Lagos APC supporters were shocked by the abrupt death of the former executive director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, especially those who were more active at the grassroots.
Gboyega Akosile, the chief press secretary to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, paid tribute to the late Amazon in a tweet on Sunday, only hours after news of her passing broke.
“We lost a dear soul to the cold hands of death earlier today. May the soul of the late Chief Mrs. Kemi Nelson, former Southwest Women Leader of the @OfficialAPCNg,” Akosule tweeted on Sunday. On Sunday in Abuja, the APC’s national secretariat also provided newsmen with a statement. The late Nelson was described in the statement, which was signed by Deputy National Publicity Secretary Murtala Ajaka, as a personable individual whose passing was a great loss to the APC family. The deceased, according to Ajaka, was a generous politician who was devoted to the APC as the ruling party.
“Chief Nelson stood for unity and was in forefront of championing campaigns that favored the lives of APC members and the masses. She never gave up on any responsibility. Her contributions to the successes of APC in Lagos state and Nigeria is beyond measure.”