Former chairman of the board of directors, Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni has expressed his sadness over the death of chairman of Ocean Marine Solutions Limited, Idahosa Okunbo.
WITHIN NIGERIA had earlier reported the demise of the billionaire magnate, Okunbo aged 60 on Sunday.
It was also learnt that the Edo-born businessman was diagnosed of cancer last September.
He became prominent and gained admiration for his philanthropic activities that touched many people, especially people of his state.
Ayeni and Okunbo, former business partners, later turned foes, after the former accused the latter of “gross mismanagement and criminal diversion of company funds” of Ocean Marine Solutions Limited, a company they both founded.
In a statement issued on Monday by Ademola Adedoyin, his media adviser, Ayeni said Okunbo’s death is painful as he was one of the “greatest contributors” to Nigeria’s economic growth.
Ayeni said Okunbo was a successful entrepreneur who combined profound business skills with his role as the patriarch of his family.
“With this sad passage of Captain Okunbo, who I fondly called Baba mi, just as he also affectionately addressed me, Nigeria has lost one of the greatest contributors to her economic growth,” he said.
“As a brother and a business partner, even though there were moments of great disagreements, especially in the very recent past, one never lost sight of the intimacy in our relationship and the unique attributes of this great entrepreneur.
“His uncommon devotion to goals attainment, his entrepreneurial skills, his business acumen and, above all, his compassion for the people he loved will be sorely missed.
“This death is particularly painful as we always had faith that in spite of the health challenges that he was battling, he was going to pull through, more so because he was a man of faith who believed in divine intervention.”
Ayeni said Okunbo’s death “is a great loss to his family and to us all, we take solace in the fact that Captain left an indelible mark on the sands of time and his legacies are imperishable and will endure for ages”.