By Balogun Kamilu Lekan
Biography
Henry Dele Alake is a journalist, activist, technocrat and a politician
Dele hails from Ekiti state. He was born on the 6th of October 1956. He is currently 66 years.
He was a mentee of the late MKO Abiola.
Amidst oppression and terrorization, Dele was at the forefront during the 1993 controversial election which was annulled by the then military president; General Ibrahim Babangida
Dele was commissioner for Information and Strategy to the then Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu between 1999–2007.
He was the Director of Media and Communication of The Tinubu Campaign Council supporting the presidential aspiration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 election.
He was appointed as the presidential spokesperson after the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023; but was later replaced by Ajuri Ngelale.
Dele Alake currently serves as the Minister of Mines Development.
Education
Alake attended Surulere Baptist Primary School, Lagos for his elementary education before heading to Christ’s School Ado Ekiti, for his West African School Certificate. He then later proceeded to Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos where he obtained his Higher School Certificate in 1975.
Later in 1975, he headed to the University of Lagos, Akoka for bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Mass Communications
Career
After graduation, Dele Alake observed his one-year national service with the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC) before he was appointed as Senior Sub-Editor at the Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation (LSBC).
He also served as Current Affairs Officer and Senior Current Affairs Officer. In 1983, he was appointed a Principal Current Affairs Officer.
Dele was pivotal to the creation of Lagos Television (LTV 8).
In 1985, Alake delved into the print aspect of journalism when he joined the defunct Concord Press publishers of the Concord Group of Newspapers – National Concord and Sunday Concord as an editor and writer.
He also served as the columnist of the National Concord.
In 1989, he was appointed editor of Sunday Concord, a capacity he occupied till 1995.
His mentor, Chief MKO Abiola appointed him his Adviser on Information to catalyse his election campaign in preparation for the 1993 general election.
Alake faced oppression from the dictatorial regime of General Sanni Abacha for his confrontations and candour to hold the government accountable for the stolen mandate of his mentor.
With so much pressure on Alake, he went into exile to form a coalition with the likes of Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Senator Bola Tinubu, Chief John Oyegun, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (Rtd.), and other top members of the National Democratic Coalition of Nigeria, NADECO.
In 1999, the then Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, appointed him as his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy and later State Commissioner for Information and Strategy
Later in 2010, Dele made a declaration to contest for the senatorial seat of Ekiti Central Ekiti state. He however dropped the aspiration because of the intra-party crisis of his political party at that time.
In 2014, he was appointed as the director of Media and Communication of the Buhari Campaign Organisation in preparation for President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential ambition in the 2015 general election
In preparation for the 2023 general election, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed him as the Director of Media and Communication of The Tinubu Campaign Council.
After his inauguration on May 29, 2023 as President of Nigeria, Tinubu appointed Alake as the presidential spokesperson.
Marriage
Dele Alake is married but there is no public information about his wife. However, one of his children, Olatunbosun Alake, is the Special Adviser on Innovation and Technology to the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-olu.
Achievements
Alake is a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, an association he once served as its vice president. He is also a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the West African Union of Journalists.
He was a former chairman of Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists
In 2000, he received the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) International Gold Award
Controversy
On the 28th of August 2022, in an interview with Vanguard Newspaper, Dele Alake in his quest to market Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, made some remarks about the presidential aspirant of the Labor Party, Peter Obi. A remark the Labor Party found derogatory.
Dele in his statement said “Those who are gravitating to Peter Obi are not analyzing his antecedents, especially in terms of performance. If that is put into consideration, Peter Obi will trail far behind and this is not in any way to denigrate him”
“Therefore, if the people who are emotionally or sentimentally attached to Peter Obi are educated or enlightened and are told to do rational analysis, they would not to make a mistake of their lifetime. They will discover a difference; they will discover that it is fluke and this is substance and our candidate is the substance. What we need at this point is visioning.”
In response, the Labor party released a statement to counter Dele’s comment. Part of the statement reads “Obi is highly verifiable, but Alake’s man is not; Obi has an origin; Alake’s has none; Obi has educational credentials; his counterpart has affidavits; Obi is whole and hearty and ready to face the challenge of leading Nigeria, the other candidate acts by proxy; Alake’s man says it’s his turn to rule Nigeria, Obi says it’s the turn of Nigerians to take back their country.“
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. All details cannot be independently verified by NewsWireNGR or its editorial team.
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