Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has mourned the death of Mr Segun Awolowo, the first grandson of the former Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (SAN), describing it as a painful and sad loss to Nigeria.
Makinde condoled with the Chairman of the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, publishers of the Tribune Titles, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, the entire Awolowo family and the management of Tribune.
The governor described Segun Awolowo, a former Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, as a great mind and a great ambassador of the Awolowo family, who made a good impression wherever he went.
Makinde prayed to God to grant repose to the soul of the deceased.
Olusegun Awolowo Jr., born on 27 September 1963, was a Nigerian lawyer best known for serving as the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) from 2013 to 2021.
He is a grandson of Obafemi Awolowo, the prominent nationalist and statesman. In July 2021, he was unanimously elected President of the National Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) from ECOWAS member states.
Mr Awolowo’s early life was marked by personal loss, as his father, Segun Awolowo Sr., died in a car accident in 1963, two months before his birth.
He spent his childhood in the care of his aunt, Tola Oyediran, and her husband, Kayode Oyediran, though he initially lived with his mother and siblings.
He began his education at Mayhill Convent School, attending alongside Dolapo Osinbajo. For his secondary education, Awolowo attended Igbobi College in Lagos before completing his studies at Government College, Ibadan. He later proceeded to Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University), where he earned an LLB degree.
After being called to the bar in December 1989, he worked with several respected law firms, including Abayomi Sogbesan & Co. and G.O.K. Ajayi & Co.
His public service career included roles as Special Assistant in the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, where he handled traditional institutions, legal matters, and social development.
In 2013, he was appointed Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), a position he held through reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018. Under his leadership, the NEPC pursued initiatives such as a 2019 partnership with Shoprite to distribute Nigerian products across Africa.
As NEPC chief, he oversaw many initiatives aimed at boosting Nigeria’s non-oil exports and strengthening the country’s global trade presence.
Until his death, he was the President of the National Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) from ECOWAS member states.
