Tofa, candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, died at the age of 74
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Alhaji Bashir Tofa, candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), in the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, has been buried in kano.
Tofa, whose death was announced by the family on Monday in Kano, was aged 74. He passed on at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano after a brief illness.
He was buried in accordance with Muslim rites between the graves of his parents at the Hajj Camp cemetery in Kano metropolis.
News of the purported death of the elder statesman and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) went viral on social media last Friday but was later put to rest by the family who confirmed that though the business tycoon was critically ill, he was still alive.
Tofa’s death came a few days after the ancient city of Kano lost one of its illustrious and foremost medical doctors in Northern Nigeria, Dr Ahmad Datti.
Tofa died 29 years after contesting and losing a presidential election against late Chief Moshood Abiola, an election that was botched by the military junta of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.
He was defeated in the presidential election by Chief MKO Abiola, candidate of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) even in his home state of Kano.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday described the late Tofa as a true nationalist that will be difficult to replace.
In a tribute to the deceased, Buhari described him as a true nationalist.
“He was, till the end, a patriot to the core. He envisaged a better Nigeria for all. We pray that this dream and collective aspiration and necessary commitment will not go with him. We owe it to his memory and to the nation,” Buhari wrote.
The President, who dispatched a delegation to Kano for the burial with a condolence letter to the state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, prayed to Allah to repose his soul and grant fortitude to the bereaved family and friends, the Kano Emirate Council as well as the government and people of Kano State to bear the loss.
The delegation is made up of the Ministers of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), and Water Resources, Engineer Sulaiman Adamu.
Others in the team included the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), Garba Shehu, and the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris.
Burial Pictures
