With the appointment, she made history as not only the pioneer HoS of the FCT but also the first woman to occupy the position.
The pioneer Head of Civil Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Mrs. Grace Adayilo, has been confirmed dead.
It was learnt that Adayilo passed away in the early hours of Monday, September 1, 2025.
Her death was confirmed in a terse message by her Special Assistant on Media, Anthony Odey, who simply wrote: “Yes, please” when asked by PUNCH, but refused to provide further details regarding the circumstances of her demise.
President Bola Tinubu had appointed Adayilo as the first substantive Head of Service of the FCT on October 6, 2024, an appointment that took immediate effect.
With the appointment, she made history as not only the pioneer HoS of the FCT but also the first woman to occupy the position.
Before assuming that role, she served as the Permanent Secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat.
As of the time of filing this report, neither her family nor the FCT Administration has issued any official statement on the cause of her death.
Grace’s death was announced barely a day after former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase passed away at Cedarcrest Hospital in Abuja.
Arase, who served as Nigeria’s 18th Inspector-General of Police, was later appointed Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC).
Before becoming IGP, he headed the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, the police force’s top intelligence unit.
Born on June 21, 1956, in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Arase studied Political Science at Ahmadu Bello University, graduating in 1980, and joined the Nigeria Police Force on December 1, 1981.
He later obtained a Law degree from the University of Benin as well as a Master’s degree from the University of Lagos.
During his career, he held several key positions, including Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State and Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of intelligence.
He also served in Namibia as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission and was a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
Arase retired from the police on June 21, 2016, after reaching the mandatory retirement age.
He was appointed as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission in January 2023 by the late President Muhammadu Buhari. He was removed from office by President Bola Tinubu in June 2024.
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