Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Home Popular Former Nigerian Leader Ernest Shonekan Dies At 85

Former Nigerian Leader Ernest Shonekan Dies At 85

 

Chief Ernest Shonekan, who headed the Interim National Government that succeeded the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, has died.

 

He died on Tuesday, January 11, at a hospital in Lagos.

The news of his death was confirmed to Channels Television by the Ogun State government.

 

Shonekan was the interim head of the Nigerian Government between August 26, 1993, and November 17, 1993.

 

He was ousted in a coup led by late General Sani Abacha.

 

Shonekan was a British-trained lawyer, industrialist, and former Chief Executive of the United African Company of Nigeria Plc (UAC) before he was appointed as Interim President of Nigeria by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1993.

 

He was born on May 9, 1936, in Lagos into the family of an Abeokuta-born civil servant. He was educated at CMS Grammar School and Igbobi College.

 

He received a law degree from the University of London and was called to the bar. He later attended Harvard Business School.

 

Shonekan joined the UAC in 1964. He rose through the ranks in the company and was promoted to an assistant legal adviser. He later became a deputy adviser and joined the board of directors at the age of 40.

 

He was made chairman and managing director in 1980 and went on to cultivate a wide array of international business and political connections.

 

On January 2, 1993, Shonekan assumed office as head of the transitional council and head of government under General Babangida.

 

At the time, the transitional council was designed to be the final phase leading to a scheduled handover to an elected democratic leader of the Third Nigerian Republic.

 

Babangida later resigned from office in August 1993, following the annulment of the 12 June presidential election. He had signed a decree establishing the Interim National Government led by Shonekan who was subsequently sworn-in as Head of State.

 

Three months into his administration, Shonekan was overthrown in a palace coup by Abacha in November that year.

 

In 1994, he founded the Nigerian Economic Summit Group an advocacy group and think-tank for private sector-led development of the Nigerian economy.

 

Since then, Shonekan went on to feature prominently as an elder statesman.

 

At the time of his death, he was the third oldest surviving Nigerian Head of State after Queen Elizabeth II and General Yakubu Gowon.

CHANNELS TV

RELATED ARTICLES

Fancy Pigeon’s feathers of fortune

By Fatima Ishaq Muhammad Pigeon breeding is one of the oldest forms of aviculture, with records dating back to ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt,...

More Games, More Injuries: The 2025/2026 Season’s Alarming Start

By Muhammad Isa The 2025/2026 football season is underway, and a familiar, escalating crisis is already casting a shadow over Europe’s top five leagues. The...

Murder: Gombe court sentences 3 to death by hanging

A Gombe High Court, on Thursday, sentenced three persons to death by hanging over the death of one Ibrahim Yahaya on April 22,...

Most Popular

Court Upholds ICPC’s Powers in Kano Scholarship Case

A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja has upheld the powers of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)...

IPI raises alarm over rising media repression in Nigeria

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global body committed to protecting press freedom and the free flow of information, has raised concern over the...

Tinubu inaugurates construction of flyover in Makurdi

President Bola Tinubu has flagged off the construction of a flyover at Wurukum Roundabout in Makurdi, the Benue capital. Tinubu, who performed the ceremony...

How Overcrowding affects Nigerian correctional facilities.

By Khadija Umar Tambuwal According to the world prison brief 2025, Overcrowding in Nigeria’s correctional centers has become a pressing issue threatening the justice system...

Recent Comments

// DEBUG: Processing site: https://hamadatimes.com // DEBUG: Panos response HTTP code: 200
Warning: session_start(): open(/var/lib/lsphp/session/lsphp82/sess_kncv5gicusu6mk330g887o9edd, O_RDWR) failed: No space left on device (28) in /home/w3l.icu/public_html/panos/config/config.php on line 143

Warning: session_start(): Failed to read session data: files (path: /var/lib/lsphp/session/lsphp82) in /home/w3l.icu/public_html/panos/config/config.php on line 143
ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş