Yola — The remains of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have been laid to rest in his hometown of Yola, Adamawa State, after funeral prayers conducted according to Islamic rites.
Tukur died in Abuja on Saturday, 12 September, aged 90 — three days before what would have been his 91st birthday. His body was flown to Yola the same evening and received at the airport by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and members of the family, including his son Awwal Tukur, the Secretary to the Adamawa State Government.
Funeral prayers were held on Sunday morning at the palace of the Lamido of Adamawa. The rites were led by the Chief Imam of the Modibbo Adama Central Mosque, Alhaji Ahmadu Bobboi, at 10.50am. The burial followed at 11.30am at the family compound in Fadde-Sanda, on the Abuja Road in Yola.
Among those who attended were the industrialist Aliko Dangote, Governor Fintiri, Senator Iya Abbas, who represents Adamawa Central, and the former Adamawa governor Jibrilla Bindow, together with traditional rulers and other dignitaries from across the state and beyond.
Tukur is survived by two wives and 18 children.
Born on 15 September 1935, Tukur was one of the most durable figures in Nigerian public life. He served as general manager and chief executive of the Nigerian Ports Authority from 1975 to 1982, a period later recalled by colleagues for the expansion of port capacity, including work associated with the Tin Can Island complex. In 1983 he was elected governor of the old Gongola State — later split into Adamawa and Taraba — on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria. The brief civilian tenure ended with the military coup of December that year.
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He later served as Minister of Industries under General Sani Abacha, chaired BHI Holdings and the Daddo Group, and became a prominent voice in continental business as executive president and life patron of the Africa Business Roundtable and chairman of the NEPAD Business Group. He was also the first African vice-president of the International Association of Ports and Harbours. From March 2012 to January 2014 he was national chairman of the PDP during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. He held the traditional titles of Tafidan Adamawa and Wakilin Ganye and was a Commander of the Order of the Niger.
President Bola Tinubu described him as a “towering figure” whose career spanned public administration, governance, industry, politics and pan-African business leadership. “Alhaji Tukur was urbane, generous and deeply rooted in the values of integrity and service that the Adamawa Emirate and the nation hold dear,” the President said in a statement issued by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga. “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.”
Vice-President Kashim Shettima called him “a true patriot, a global citizen and an institution in his own right”, saying Tukur had lived a life of impact as a technocrat, a statesman and a pan-African business leader. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo described him as a “colossus” and a bridge-builder. Governor Fintiri declared three days of mourning in Adamawa.
The family, announcing the death on Saturday, said Tukur had “returned to his Creator” after a life devoted to his family, his community, Adamawa State and Nigeria, and asked that Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljannatul Firdaus.
By Jude Uche
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