From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
Kebbi State Governor Dr Nasir Idris has expressed his deep shock over the death of the Chairman of the Kebbi State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), who passed away in the early hours of Thursday following a brief illness at the Federal Medical Center, Birnin Kebbi.
In a statement issued through his Special Adviser on Media, Mallam Yahyah Sarki, the Governor described the journalist’s death as a colossal loss to the state. “The death of the NUJ Chairman has created a wide vacuum in journalism that would be difficult to fill,” he stated.
Governor Idris praised the deceased as a core professional, consummate, and diligent personality. “The late Chairman would be remembered by a myriad of legacies he has left as a journalist and as a leader,” he added.
The Governor offered his condolences to the family of the deceased and the entire journalism community in the state. He prayed for Allah to forgive the journalist’s shortcomings and grant him a place in Aljannar Firdaus. He also asked Allah to grant the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
The late journalist, who was 52 years old at the time of his passing, is survived by three wives and ten children. He was buried according to Islamic rites after a funeral prayer conducted at FMC Birnin Kebbi.
Among the prominent government officials who attended the funeral prayer were the Kebbi State Head of Service, Alhaji Sufyanu Garba Bena; Hon Commissioner of Information and Culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed Birnin; Permanent Secretaries; Special Advisers; General Manager of Kebbi State Television Service, Alhaji Aminu Sani Kamba; journalists; and family members.