The former Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Olusegun Awolowo, has died at 62.
Olusegun, who is a grandson of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, died at Reddington Multi-Specialist Hospital, Victoria Island in Lagos on Thursday, November 20, 2025.
A family source informed said the humble administrator was actually confirmed dead by 4.30pm after being on ‘ventilator’ all day. “He was rushed into Reddington unconscious after his medical challenge that had to do with the heart had probably been mismanaged. He had lost so much weight”, the source said.
Another hospital source informed that his wife and three children as well as former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo were with him at his last moment.
The Awolowo Family, in a statement, later confirmed the passage of the illustrious son.
The statement read: “With extremely heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Olusegun Awolowo.He was the world’s most phenomenal husband, father and grandfather, steady, wise, endlessly loving, and the constant anchor of our family.
“A painfully loyal servant to Nigeria, he dedicated his life to the service of his country with vision, integrity, passion, and unwavering commitment.
“He was a true family man, a great friend, a wonderful servant of God, and a deeply beautiful human being.
“He loved his family. He loved his work. He loved his country. And he lived every day with purpose, humility, and a generous spirit that touched everyone who knew him.
“We are shattered by this loss, but forever grateful for his life, his legacy, and the love he poured into all of us. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.”
Olusegun Awolowo Jr., born on 27 September 1963, is a Nigerian lawyer best known for serving as the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) from 2013 to 2021.
He is a grandson of Obafemi Awolowo, the prominent nationalist and statesman. In July 2021, he was unanimously elected President of the National Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) from ECOWAS member states.
Mr Awolowo’s early life was marked by personal loss, as his father, Segun Awolowo Sr., died in a car accident in 1963, two months before his birth.
He spent his childhood in the care of his aunt, Tola Oyediran, and her husband, Kayode Oyediran, though he initially lived with his mother and siblings.
He began his education at Mayhill Convent School, attending alongside Dolapo Osinbajo. For his secondary education, Awolowo attended Igbobi College in Lagos before completing his studies at Government College, Ibadan. He later proceeded to Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University), where he earned an LLB degree.
After being called to the bar in December 1989, he worked with several respected law firms, including Abayomi Sogbesan & Co. and G.O.K. Ajayi & Co.
His public service career included roles as Special Assistant in the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, where he handled traditional institutions, legal matters, and social development.
In 2013, he was appointed Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), a position he held through reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018. Under his leadership, the NEPC pursued initiatives such as a 2019 partnership with Shoprite to distribute Nigerian products across Africa.
As NEPC chief, he oversaw many initiatives aimed at boosting Nigeria’s non-oil exports and strengthening the country’s global trade presence.
Until his death, he was the President of the National Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) from ECOWAS member states.
Prominent Nigerians, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governors Dapo Abiodun and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Ogun and Lagos States respectively have mourned his demise.
