September 01, (THEWILL) – Penultimate week, Tayo Akinmade Ayinde, fondly referred to as Buffalo, the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu hit the big 60 and rather than roll out the red carpet, he decided to celebrate the landmark age in a unique way. He chose to spend the entire day in the presence of his maker with a thanksgiving service at the Chapel of Christ the Light Church, Alausa Lagos. It was a blend of spirituality and celebration characterised by energetic praise and worship.
The thanksgiving service was further uplifted with songs by Abolaji David Banjoko aka BeeJay Sax, Evangelist Tope Alabi and the church choir. Many of the guests in attendance were given the opportunity to make glowing speeches about him in tributes and testimonies. The thanksgiving service was officiated by a group of clergymen led by Right Rev STV Adegbite, chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Lagos State chapter and Dr Sunday Ola Makinde, Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria.
The highpoint of the service was the cutting of one of the four birthday cakes of the celebrant right there in the church while the church choir sang for him. The service ended with the celebrant giving a vote of thanks followed by a closing prayer as everyone departed for their various homes. Some of those in attendance at the service were the Lagos State Deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat and his wife; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, Hakeem Muri Okunola, President Bola Tinubu’s private secretary; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Adewale Akanbi; Erelu Abiola Dosunmu; white cap chiefs representing Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos etc. Earlier, members of the House of Representatives, Lagos State Caucus; Governance Advisory Council (GAC) of Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) and members of the state House of Assembly had paid tributes to him extolling his many virtues.
Although he beamed with smiles all through the duration of the thanksgiving service, it was obvious that the day would have been a better spent day were his late wife, Princess Adedoyin Raliat still alive. She passed on in November 2022 after returning from a United Kingdom trip where she went to have their second baby. She was a niece of business tycoon and former AGIP Board Chairman, Adekunle Ojora.
Ayinde has been described by those in government circles as a workaholic technocrat with a dignified calmness, an accountant with a sense of security, a man of excellent gait and commanding presence and a strategic thinker. But Ayinde is this and much more, particularly in Alausa, the seat of power in Lagos State and Bourdillon, the ‘kingdom’ of his mentor and President Bola Tinubu. A National Diploma (HND) holder in Accountancy from the Lagos State polytechnic, he also holds a Master’s Degree (MBA) in Financial Management from Lagos State University and has attended the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, Harvard Business School for various short courses in finance and management. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Diplomacy and Management and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Ayinde was a former staff of the Department of State, DSS where he served as the head of the accounts department of the Shangisha Office from 1993 to 1999. He was later deployed to serve with Tinubu when he was the Lagos State governor, a period that became his (Ayinde) turning point. He was allegedly tipped to be a successor to former governor Babatunde Fashola at some point.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
