Ex-CBN Deputy Gov, Obadiah Mailafia Dies @ 64
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor and Presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2019 election, Dr Obadiah Mailafia is dead
A reliable source confirmed that the 64-year-old development economist, public commentator, and fierce government critic died on Sunday morning after complaining of discomfort and pains. Mailafia was taken to Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital Abuja where he reportedly took his last breath in controversial circumstances.
But unconfirmed sources said the unrepentant critic of the Buhari administration, who had ‘malaria and catarrh’ a few days back, is suspected to have died of COVID-19 related complications.
Born on December 24, 1956, in Randa village, Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna state, Mailafia was the apex bank Deputy governor from 2005 to 2007. He is also a former top official of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group
Between 2010 and 2015, he served as the Chief of Staff (Chef de Cabinet) to the 79-member nation African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group of States based in Brussels, Belgium.
Serving in that capacity, Mailafia was the most senior adviser to the Secretary-General, overseeing the strategic management function; liaising with external partners such as the European Commission, European Parliament, European Investment Bank (EIB), UN agencies, and the IMF and World Bank.
Amid the rising killings in Southern Kaduna, he joined partisan politics in 2018 and became flagbearer of African Democratic Congress (ADC)’s in the 2019 presidential election won by President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
His impressive credentials showed that Mailafia graduated top of his class at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), 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.
