Former minister of state for power and steel, Oyekunle Oluwasanmi, is dead.

His family, in a statement, said he died on Thursday, July 14, aged 85 years.

Oluwasanmi was appointed as the chairman of the board of the News Agency of Nigeria in 1992. He was also a board member of several companies, including Kinley Securities Limited and Wise Health Services Limited.


In 1995, in recognition of his sterling administrative skills, he was appointed by the Federal Military Government as a member of the Committee for States and Local Governments Creation. He was part of a committee that advocated the creation of Ekiti, Ebonyi, Nassarawa, Gombe, Zamfara and Bayelsa states in 1996.

In recognition of his solid administrative prowess, he was appointed minister of State for Power and Steel in 1997.

Under his watch, several reforms which positively impacted the nation’s power and steel sector were introduced.

A community leader worthy of emulation, Oluwasanmi was the Customs and Excise Area administrator for Tin Can Island Ports and subsequently at Calabar Ports. He is survived by his wife, Grace Fehintola, children and grandchildren.