Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday said he received with shock and deep regrets the death of Senator Ibrahim Nasiru Mantu, a former Deputy Senate President.
In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja, Atiku said his association with Mantu dated back to the era of military guided political transition programmesThe former Vice President noted that while he was in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mantu was a leading political light in the Nigeria Republican Convention (NRC).
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According to Atiku, Mantu, who until his passing away, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party NEC, said: “was a friendly soul who loved Nigeria and promoted national unity”.
The Waziri Adamawa said that as Vice President, following the restoration of democratic rule, he worked together with Mantu, who was then the Deputy Senate President and others to stabilise the nascent democracy within the first tenure of the Fourth Republic.
“Mantu was very central in the management of the frosty relationship between the executive and the legislature in those difficult years of learning the nuances of democratic practice.”
He alluded to Mantu’s dogged and tenacious spirit which he said was instrumental in lifting him from humble beginnings to a life of statesmanship.
Atiku said that as a senator representing Plateau Central and a Deputy Senate President, Mantu saw his responsibility as going beyond the Plateau and the Senate chambers to the level of a nationalist who thought of Nigeria first.
He said that Nigeria would miss Senator Mantu ‘s political experiences which spanned over four decades.
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