President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed sadness over the death of elder statesman, businessman and former Governor of the old Gongola State, Alhaji Bamanga Muhammad Tukur, who died at the age of 90.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday, President Tinubu described Tukur’s death as the end of a remarkable chapter in Nigeria’s political and economic history.
The President said the late Tafidan Adamawa had a distinguished career spanning public administration, governance, industry, politics and pan-African business leadership.
Born on September 15, 1935, Tukur served as General Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority from 1975 to 1982, where he contributed to the modernisation of port operations and the development of Nigeria’s maritime sector.
He later ventured into politics during the Second Republic and was elected Governor of the old Gongola State in 1983, an area now comprising Adamawa and Taraba States.
Tukur also served as Federal Minister of Industries under the military administration of General Sani Abacha from 1993 to 1995, while also chairing BHI Holdings and the DADDO Group of Companies, with interests in manufacturing, agriculture, logistics and trading.
On the continental stage, he served as Executive President of the African Business Roundtable and Chairman of the NEPAD Business Group, advocating intra-African trade, private sector-led growth and sustainable development.
He was also National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from March 2012 to January 2014.
President Tinubu described the deceased as “urbane, generous and deeply rooted in the values of integrity and service,” adding that Nigeria would “sorely miss his wise counsel and fatherly guidance.”
The President extended his condolences to the Tukur family, the Fombina Emirate of Adamawa, the Adamawa State Government and people, as well as the political and business communities in Nigeria and across Africa.
He prayed that Almighty Allah would forgive Tukur’s shortcomings, grant him Aljannah Firdaus and comfort his family and other mourners.
