Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed shock over the death of former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu.
Mr Abubakar, in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe on Tuesday in Abuja, said he received with shock and deep regrets, the loss of Mantu, who he described as a seasoned Nigerian politician.
He said that Mr Mantu, who until his passing away was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Executive Council, NEC, “was a friendly soul who loved Nigeria and promoted national unity.”
The former vice president said his association with Mantu dated back to the era of military guided political transition programmes.
He noted that while he was in the defunct Social Democratic Party, SDP, Mantu was a leading political light in the Nigeria Republican Convention, NRC.
Mr Abubakar said as Vice President following the restoration of democratic rule, he worked together with Mr Mantu who was then the Deputy Senate President and others, to stabilise the nascent democracy during 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 said.
He alluded to Mr Mantu’s dogged and tenacious spirit which he said was instrumental to lifting him from humble beginnings to a life of statesmanship.
Mr Abubakar noted that as a senator representing Plateau Central and deputy senate president, Mr Mantu saw his responsibility as going beyond Plateau and the senate chambers.
The former vice president said the deceased was a nationalist who thought of Nigeria first.
He said that Nigeria would miss Mantu’s political experiences which spanned over four decades.
Mr Abubakar prayed Allah to forgive Mantu’s sins, console the family he left behind, the Government and people of Plateau as well as the senate which he served with distinction.
NAN
