By Emma Ogbuehi
Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and former political adviser to erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, has been killed by gunmen in Imo state. Our correspondent gathered that he was shot while returning to Abuja from Owerri.
Gulak was chairman of the APC committee that conducted the controversial primaries for the 2019 Imo governorship election. In the thick of the confusion, he was declared missing after arriving in the state to supervise the exercise in October 2018.
He later surfaced in Abuja and he was “kidnapped” alongside members of the panel, and that he was offered $2 million to influence the outcome of the primaries. Gulak announced Hope Uzodimma as the winner of the primaries, which the camp of the then Governor Rochas Okorocha disputed.
He once declared himself as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the party’s leadership crisis in January 2016.
Jonathan sacked him as his special adviser on political matters in April 2014. No reason was given for his sack but he was alleged to be meddling in the affairs of some PDP states.
Few days after he was dismissed from office, he resigned as the national coordinator of the Goodluck Support Group (GSG). He later joined the APC
In a social media post to announce his death, Umar Ardo, his close friend, wrote; “Inna lillahi wa inna illaihi rajiuun. Allahu Akbar.
“I just confirmed the sad and gruesome death of my friend and classmate, the former Hon. Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, former Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President and former Special Adviser Political to President Goodluck Jonathan, Barr. Ahmadu Ali Gulak. Barr Gulak was said to have been killed last night by unknown gunmen in Owerri, IMO State.
“May Allah (SWT) forgive his sins, bless his soul and reward his good deeds with Aljannah on the Day of Resurrection. May Allah (SWT) also give all his children, relatives, friends and loved ones, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. And may Allah (SWT) bless us with faithful deaths when it is our turn to die. Ameen.
“Please let all and sundry accept my heartfelt sympathy over this personal painful experience even as I draw solace that he lived a good, helpful and productive life, well-illustrated by the fact that he died while in service of his dear country.
“This is one death too many! May God Almighty save our fatherland. Ameen”.