On Saturday August 2, 2025, former Minister of Health, and Founding President, the Academy of Pharmacy, Sir (Prince) Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi celebrated his 85th birthday.
He was born in Ado-Ekiti in 1940. He attended Aquinas College, Akure, where he completed his secondary education and emerged with a Grade One certificate and five distinctions. This feat automatically qualified him to get both federal and Western Region scholarships for his Advanced Level studies.
In 1965, he graduated from the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) as one of Nigeria’s first set of Pharmacy graduates. In 1987, at the age of 47, he emerged as the best overall graduating student at the Nigerian Law School, after securing a first class degree in law from the University of Lagos.
He became Nigeria’s first Rotary District Governor in 1984. He’s also the founding President of the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy(NAP). In 1993, he made history as the first and only Pharmacist to serve as Minister of Health and Social Services in Nigeria.
Unknown to many, Sir Adelusi-Adeluyi for many years visited Correctional Centers across Nigeria quietly to offer pro bono services to inmates that suffered human rights abuses and those incarcerated unlawfully.
On December 13, 2014, Pope Francis, the Head of Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City conferred the Papal Knighthood of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great on Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi.
The event which took place at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ado-Ekiti was witnessed by several dignitaries where the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ekiti, Fr Felix Femi Ajakaiye represented the Pope.
Today, the Papal Knight has published over 40 articles and policy papers across the fields of Pharmacy, Law, Health Policy, and Education. His intellectual curiosity is boundless; his mental acuity remains sharp, even at 85.
The entire management and staff of Gavel International, and Mediamost Ventures wishes our father, Sir (Prince) Julius and his delectable wife, Prince Julia many more glorious years ahead.
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