YOLA, Nigeria – Vice President Kashim Shettima, GCON, has arrived in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, leading a high-level Federal Government delegation on an official condolence visit to the family of the late elder statesman, industrialist, and former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Dr. Bamanga Muhammad Tukur, CON, State House correspondents confirmed on Thursday afternoon, September 17, 2026.
The presidential mission was dispatched at the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, following the passing of the revered patriarch and Tafidan Adamawa on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the age of 90, concluding a distinguished life of national service that spanned more than six decades across public administration, national politics, and continental commerce.
Okay News reports that the presidential aircraft touched down at the Lamido Aliyu Musdafa International Airport in Yola, where Vice President Shettima was received with full state honors by the Executive Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, alongside members of the Adamawa State Executive Council and traditional leaders.
The high-powered delegation accompanying the Vice President included senior executive, legislative, and party officials, notably the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori; former Minister of Transportation, Senator Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali; Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Abdullahi Abubakar Gumel.
The federal contingent also comprised prominent political leaders and community figures from the North East geopolitical zone, including Hon. Abdulrazaq Sa’ad Namdas; the Sarkin Gabas Adamawa, Dr. Mahmood Halilu Ahmed; and the APC National Vice Chairman (North-East), Comrade Mustapha Salihu.
During the visit to the family residence in Yola, Vice President Shettima conveyed the heartfelt sympathies of President Tinubu and the Federal Government to the bereaved family, the government and people of Adamawa State, and the Adamawa Emirate Council.
The Vice President eulogized the late Tafidan Adamawa as an institutional colossus whose early stewardship as General Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority modernized the nation’s maritime logistics, before his historic election as Governor of the defunct Gongola State in 1983 and subsequent appointment as Minister of Industry.
Shettima emphasized that Alhaji Tukur’s visionary leadership extended far beyond partisan politics and domestic governance, noting his pioneering contributions as a founding leader of the African Business Roundtable and his relentless advocacy for regional economic integration across the African continent.
Governor Fintiri expressed deep appreciation to President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima for the national solidarity extended to the Tukur family and the entire people of Adamawa State during their period of mourning, describing the gesture as a profound testament to the deceased statesman’s monumental footprint in Nigerian history.
