Chairman of the editorial board of National Daily newspapers Chris Akiri has died in Lagos, the company announced on Tuesday.
Mr Akiri, a lawyer, died on September 30 after a brief illness.
Akiri was appointed chairman of the newspaper’s editorial board in June 2006, a position held till his death.
The newspaper said in a statement: “His versatility in many areas was both astounding and outstanding. An accomplished lawyer, teacher, journalist, politician, ordained deacon and renowned public affairs analyst whose intellectual prowess and deep understanding of social issues knew no bound. He was a frequent guest on several television stations in Nigeria which include Channels, AIT, ARISE, among others.
“While managing his law firm, he served on the Editorial Board of reputable media organizations in Nigeria, which include The Guardian, then, National Daily.”
Akiri was born in Kokori-Inland in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. He attended the University of Ibadan, Oyo State where he studied History, Political Science and French and obtained a B.A. (Hons.) in History. He also attended the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, where he obtained an LL.B (Hons.) and a masters’ degree (LLM) magna cum laude. He was called to the Nigerian bar in 1992.
Akiri was also an alumnus of several foreign tertiary institutions such as the University of Bradford, Yorkshire, England; Urwick Management Centre, Slough in Reading, England; London University, London and PennState University, USA.
