Malam Ismaila Isa Funtua, 78, a close confidant and an unofficial adviser of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, has died of cardiac arrest.
Presidential Spokesman Garba Shehu told Premium Times that Funtua was returning from the mosque when he suddenly fell ill and decided to go see a doctor.
Funtua hailed from Funtua, Katsina State.
He was a pioneer student of the Federal Training Centre, Kaduna, and later trained as an administrative officer at the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria.
Funtua served at the Katsina Native Authority for seven years as an Administrative Officer and was Personnel Manager in United Textiles Limited.
He was Minister of Water Resources in the defunct Second Republic and a member of the 1994-1995 Constitutional Conference.
Funtua was the founding Managing Director of Democrat Newspaper and served as President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) for eight years.
He was the founder of Bullet International Nigeria Limited, an indigenous construction company, which played a significant role in the building of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
He will be buried according to Islamic rites on Tuesday.
Support Our Journalism
There are millions of ordinary people affected by conflict in Africa whose stories are missing in the mainstream media. HumAngle is determined to tell those challenging and under-reported stories, hoping that the people impacted by these conflicts will find the safety and security they deserve.
To ensure that we continue to provide public service coverage, we have a small favour to ask you. We want you to be part of our journalistic endeavour by contributing a token to us.
Your donation will further promote a robust, free, and independent media.
Donate Here
