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 condolence message issued 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. He said the late Tafidan Adamawa was a towering figure whose career spanned public administration, governance, industry, politics and pan-African business leadership.
Born on September 15, 1935, Tukur rose to national prominence as General Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority between 1975 and 1982, where he played a role in the modernisation of port operations and the development of Nigeria’s maritime sector.
His political career took a major turn during the Second Republic when he was elected Governor of the old Gongola State in 1983, a territory that was later divided into the present-day Adamawa and Taraba states. He later returned to the private sector and served as Chairman of BHI Holdings and the DADDO Group of Companies, with interests spanning manufacturing, agriculture, logistics and trading.
Tukur also served as Federal Minister of Industries under the military administration of General Sani Abacha between 1993 and 1995. Beyond Nigeria, he was a prominent voice for Africa’s economic development, serving as Executive President of the African Business Roundtable and Chairman of the NEPAD Business Group, where he advocated intra-African trade, private-sector growth and sustainable development.
He also served as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from March 2012 to January 2014. Tinubu described him as urbane, generous and deeply committed to integrity and public service, saying 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 Nigeria’s political and business communities and their counterparts across Africa. He prayed that Almighty Allah would forgive Tukur’s shortcomings, grant him Aljannah Firdaus and comfort those mourning his death.
