Pa Akinkunmi: Let national flag be flown at half-mast – Oyo ex-lawmakers urge govt

The members of the 7th Oyo State House of Assembly have urged the Federal Government to allow the national flag to be flown at half-mast whenever Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi is buried.

Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi was the designer of the national flag.

The lawmakers, who served between 2011 and 2015 under the speakership of Sen. Monsurat Sunmonu, stated this on Wednesday while addressing newsmen at the end of their meeting held in Ibadan.

According to Sunmonu, who presided over the meeting, the 7th assembly invited Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi to the plenary precisely in June 2013 and asked so many questions as regards how he designed the national flag.

“Having realised the contribution of Pa Akinkunmi to the nation, we wrote an open letter to the then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who invited us to the villa to inform him about Pa Akinkunmi's contributions.

“President Jonathan subsequently took our advice, and Pa Akinkunmi was given a national award and appointed as a life-long special adviser to the nation’s president.

“Now the national flag designer has passed away, but we believe that Nigeria still has a lot to do for him, even in death, as long as the Nigeria flag still remains.

“We will appreciate if the Federal government and all the States in Nigeria could put the national flag half mast on the day of his burial to show that we do appreciate the man, even in death,” Sunmonu stated.

The 7th Assembly Speaker used the opportunity to appreciate the federal and state governments for promising to organise a befitting burial for Pa Akinkunmi, saying they are looking forward to that promise.

Sunmonu, however, said that whatever the state and federal governments would do during Pa Akinkunmi’s burial would be for the country and not for the 7th Assembly members or his family.