The son of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Prince Abdulfatai Adeyemi, fondly called D-Gov, is dead.

He died in the early hours of Friday, a day before his 47th birthday.

He reportedly died of diabetes at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The Oyo prince, who was said to have been ill for a while, aspired for the Oyo Federal Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019 but lost the election to his brother, Akeem Adeyemi, fondly called Skimeh, who was re-elected for the second term.

He was appointed by the state governor, Seyi Makinde, as Chairman of the Oyo State Local Government Pension Board in his first term.

A palace source, who preferred anonymity, told The PUNCH that he died on Friday after a protracted illness.

READ ALSO: [JUST IN] Alaafin: Kingmakers Absent As Court Strikes Out Suit Against Makinde

He said, “Yes, he died this morning. Many people have also called me to confirm his demise. I was also weak when I received the news. Today is his brother, Akeem Adeyemi’s (a House of Representatives member), birthday, a day away from each other.

“I was with him on the day of the empowerment programme of his brother, Akeem, popularly called Skimeh, when he gave N50,000 each to 500 people. We sat down together. He was even the one who delivered the sermon on that day, not knowing that he was saying goodbye to everybody. It’s so painful and sad,” he lamented.

Details later…

The founder of a branch of Celestial Church of Christ in Lagos State, Aderemi Dabiri, has said the reason why he invited Fuji singer, Alabi Pasuma, and street-hop artiste, Portable, was to gain new converts.

The cleric made this known in a video where he was seen addressing a delegation of the church’s task force who visited his parish to have an audience with him.

The white garment church came under heavy criticism recently for inviting secular artistes to its praise night event.

While explaining the rationale behind the decision, Dabiri revealed that the choice of the two artistes was to attract deviants in the society.

READ ALSO: Celestial Church Bows To Criticism, Drops Portable, Pasuma From Praise Night

According to him, the pattern of evangelism had worked for him over the years and also resulted in the growth of his church membership.

He said, “It is not our first time inviting guest artistes. We have been doing it without a problem and I can give you a series of instances. We cannot go where they sell palm wine or alcoholic drinks and ask them to accept Jesus Christ. If I don’t apply wisdom, they will hit a bottle on my head. That was why I thought of a way to bring them into the church.

“I also noticed that there are some notorious boys who cause trouble in the community, disturbing the authorities and engaging in cultism. I wondered how can we draw their attention so that they would have a change of heart. We have gone to places where they are and they ended up beating us. Most of the members of my church are new converts and it was through that pattern that I converted them.”

Dabiri, who criticised some gospel ministers for being disrespectful said he preferred to invite secular musicians.

“Some gospel ministers are rude. If you talk to some of them, they respond rudely, but the day I called Pasuma, he sounded respectful on the phone and also agreed with my stance,” he said.

READ ALSO: Knocks As Church Invites Pasuma, Portable To Praise Night

Responding to the concerns raised by the task force team about the raging controversy caused by the development, Dabiri indicated that he had no plans to cancel the invitation.

However, he explained that he would reduce the excesses of the artistes at the event, especially Portable.

He said, “We will tell Portable not to dye his hair and he should not sing vulgar songs but to sing gospel music. We will also caution him not to dress inappropriately or climb the speakers.

“We will also warn him not to allow his boys to smoke here. We have invited close to 30 military personnel to man the event.”

The cleric also appealed to the Celestial Church worldwide to support his vision, as he would use his style of evangelism to make the church proud.

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar has called on the newly graduated officers of the Special Forces of the Nigerian Air Force to respect and protect the members of their host communities.

Abubakar, who was represented by Air Vice Marshal Usman Abdullahi, Air Officer Commanding, Ground Training Command, Headquarters, made the call in Bauchi on Friday during the graduation ceremony of 135 students of the Special Forces Course 11/2023.

According to him, from the high quality of tactical display by the graduating students,  there was no doubt that they had imbibed the basic skills and techniques required to conduct special operations in achieving the operational objectives of the Nigerian Air Force.

READ ALSO: Edo 2024: Osunbor Joins Guber Race, Vows To Lift Edo To Enviable Heights

He explained that the successes of the Nigerian Air Force in shaping the battlespace and neutralising adversary capabilities had resulted in degrading operational capacity of bandits, insurgents and other criminal elements in different operational theatres.

“To the graduating students of Special Forces Course 11/2023, I am aware of the rigors of your training on ground, in the air and that’s why you have been decorated with your Special Forces emblem. I say well done.

“I therefore urge you to exhibit what you have learnt during the course whenever and wherever duty calls.

“This call will require you to exhibit courage, commitment and loyalty in the discharge of your duties.

READ ALSO: Japa: Nigeria In Deep Crisis, ASUU Laments

“Once deployed, you are implored to treat your host communities with utmost respect as your task is to protect them from hostile threats,” he said.

Abubakar also appreciated President Bola Tinubu for his continuous support to the Nigerian Air Force despite the harsh economic realities and promised to continue to employ the available resources for the betterment of the country’s service.

Earlier, Aminu Bello, the Commanding Officer, Regiment Training Centre Annex, Nigerian Air Force, Bauchi, said a total of 308 Nigerian Air Force personnel of the Regiment Specialty were nominated to undergo Medical and Physical screening for the 93 days Special Forces Course.

He explained that out of the number, only 294 reported and 148 trainees scaled through the medical and physical screening tests.

According to him, these successful personnel commenced the training in September but at the end of the course, a total of 135 comprising five officers and 130 airmen completed the course.

READ ALSO: Court Sentences Ex-soldier To Death By Hanging For Killing Islamic Cleric

“Trainees embarked on 10, 15 and 20 km loaded marches respectively with the objective of improving their endurance, even in rugged terrains.

“Several day and night live firing exercises were conducted to ensure that trainees were able to acquire and neutralise targets instinctively at short, medium and long distances.

“About 80% of these trainees came with no idea of swimming but at the end of the swimming phase, all of them graduated from basic to intermediate swimmers,” he said.