Adamu Ciroma Dies at 84

It was a torrent of tributes for one of Nigeria’s foremost statesmen, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, who died Thursday as President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other top politicians showered encomiums on him for his sterling contributions to the development of Nigeria.The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, whose exemplary public life marked him out as a significant patriot and nationalist, passed on at the Turkish Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja at 84.

He has been buried at the Federal Capital Territory in accordance with Muslim rites.

He was a seasoned journalist, an astute administrator and an outstanding politician, who also held ministerial portfolios at the federal level. He forcefully announced himself on the nation’s political landscape when he emerged runners-up to Alhaji Shehu Shagari at the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) presidential primaries for the 1979 presidential contest.

Born in 1934 in Potiskum, Yobe State, Ciroma attended primary schools in Fika and Potiskum. Later he attended the Bornu Middle School and Barewa College, Zaria before he proceeded to the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology also in Zaria.

He graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1961 and joined the civil service as an administrative officer. He became a Senior Assistant Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Power in 1966, and later, Editor, New Nigerian Newspapers where he eventually became the Managing Director and later CBN Governor.

He delved into politics and was a presidential aspirant of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) platform in 1979.

He came third behind Shehu Shagari and Maitama Sule. And as he gained prominence in the party, he was named at various times as minister for Industries, Agriculture and Finance.

In September 1983, Ciroma became the chairman of a presidential transition committee, with a term of reference of making proposals on how to re-structure the federal government.

Ciroma, one of the leaders who fought the military regime of late General Sani Abacha, was a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was at the helm of affairs in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015.

His death was received with sadness by President Muhammad Buhari Thursday according to his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.

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