Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Mrs. Grace Adayilo, the pioneer Head of the Civil Service of the FCT and the first woman to occupy the position.
Adayilo passed away in the early hours of Monday, September 1, 2025. Her death was confirmed in a terse response by her Special Assistant on Media, Anthony Odey, who declined to provide further details about the circumstances of her demise.
Reacting during a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, Wike described her death as “sad and unfortunate,” noting that she was a dedicated and hardworking public servant.
“The late FCT Head of Service was very hardworking. I even pleaded with President Tinubu to extend her tenure because of her diligence,” Wike said. “If I had received the information about her passing earlier, I would have postponed this media chat.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Adayilo as the first substantive Head of the Civil Service of the FCT on October 6, 2024, an appointment that took immediate effect. Before then, she served as the Permanent Secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat.
Her appointment was historic as she became not only the pioneer Head of Service of the FCT but also the first female to hold the office.
As of press time, neither her family nor the FCT Administration had released an official statement on the cause of her death.
Adayilo’s passing comes just a day after the death of former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase at Cedarcrest Hospital, Abuja.
Arase, who served as Nigeria’s 18th IGP, later became Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) in January 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari. He was removed from office in June 2024 by President Tinubu.
Born on June 21, 1956, in Owan West, Edo State, Arase studied Political Science at Ahmadu Bello University and joined the Nigeria Police Force in December 1981. He later earned a Law degree from the University of Benin and a Master’s from the University of Lagos.
During his distinguished career, he held top positions, including Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (Intelligence), and Head of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau. He also served in Namibia under the United Nations peacekeeping mission and retired on June 21, 2016, after attaining the mandatory retirement age.
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