President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has mourned 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 on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu described Tukur’s death as the end of “a remarkable chapter in Nigeria’s political and economic history.”
Tukur, the Tafidan Adamawa, had a career spanning public administration, governance, business, politics and pan-African economic leadership.
Born on September 15, 1935, he served as General Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority from 1975 to 1982, where the President said he contributed to the modernisation of port operations and Nigeria’s maritime sector.
Tukur later ventured into politics during the Second Republic and was elected Governor of the old Gongola State in 1983. The state was later divided into Adamawa and Taraba states.
He also served as Federal Minister of Industries under the administration of General Sani Abacha from 1993 to 1995.
In the private sector, Tukur was Chairman of BHI Holdings and the DADDO Group of Companies, with interests in manufacturing, agriculture, logistics and trading.
At the continental level, he served as Executive President of the African Business Roundtable and Chairman of the NEPAD Business Group, where he advocated intra-African trade, private sector-led growth and sustainable development.
Tukur also served as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from March 2012 to January 2014.
President Tinubu said Tukur made significant contributions to Nigeria’s democracy during his tenure as PDP chairman through party discipline and consensus-building.
“Alhaji Tukur was urbane, generous and deeply rooted in the values of integrity and service that the Adamawa Emirate and the nation hold dear,” Tinubu said.
“He was a man of big ideas and bold enterprise who believed in Nigeria’s limitless potential. Nigeria will 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.
