APC describes late elder statesman as a progressive voice

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the late elder statesman, Alhaji Maitama Sule, as a progressive voice who made the country proud in all assignments he undertook for the country, locally and internationally.

Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary said in a statement on Monday in Abuja, adding that Nigeria had indeed lost a distinguished public servant and a patriot.

He also said the deceased, also known by his traditional title as “Danmasanin Kano“ was a patriot who espoused the God-given strengths and positive attributes of all the constituent ethnicities in the country.

Abdullahi commiserated with the late Sule’s immediate family, Emir of Kano, the people and Government of Kano State, the Federal Government and the international community over the loss.

The APC spokesman also recalled the late Sule`s exemplary services as two-time minister and pioneer head of the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).

He said that as former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the late Sule chaired the important United Nations Standing Committee Against Apartheid then ravaging South Africa.

“Indeed, Nigeria has lost an eminent son whose life and work and memories will be forever celebrated and remembered, “ Abdullahi, said.

He prayed the Almighty God to give the deceased eternal rest and his family, the strength to bear the loss.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the late Sule became Minister of Mines and Power in 1954 at the age of 29.

He signed deals and contracts with Shell for oil prospecting and exploration in Nigeria and contested the presidential ticket of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1979.

The deceased was widely acclaimed for his oratory prowess which endeared him to many Nigerians and politicians across board.

The late Sule died at 88, at the early hours of Monday while on admission at a private hospital in Cairo, Egypt.

He was said to have been flown to the Egyptian hospital on Saturday after doctors at Kano’s Nasarawa Hospital diagnosed him of pneumonia and chest infection.

His corpse is expected to be flown back to Nigeria on Tuesday for burial at the Kano Emir’s Palace.