Tayo Akpata

Tayo Akpata was a Nigerian educator and administrator who served as the Commissioner for Education in Midwestern Nigeria from 1971 to 1975. He was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Benin, which was upgraded from the Mid-West Institute of Technology in 1972. He also played a key role in the development of sports and youth activities in the region, as the first chairman of the National Youth Service Corps (Mid-West State) and the first chairman-organiser of the Nigerian University Games and the West African Inter-University Games. He later served as the chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company, as well as the trustee and executive secretary of the Petroleum Trust Fund. He was known for his integrity, patriotism, and detribalised outlook. He was active in the anti-colonial struggle as a student in the United Kingdom, where he studied Politics and Law at the University of Hull. He also worked as the acting Registrar of the University of Ibadan before joining the Mid-West State government. He died in Lagos on October 13, 2014, at the age of 83.