Buhari, Atiku mourn Ahmed Joda

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday paid tribute to pioneer civil servant, great statesman and patriot, Alhaji Ahmed Joda who died after a prolonged illness in his hometown, Yola, Adamawa State.

According to a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) Friday pointed out that Joda was the last surviving member of Governor Hassan Usman’s Northern Nigeria cabinet.

It said President Buhari highlighted Joda’s “monumental contributions to Nigeria’s unity and progress,” from the birth of the nation until his death, saying that “his lofty ideals will continue to motivate millions across the nation.’’

“We will not forget his sacrifices,” the statement quoted the president as saying.

He also noted that the late “Super Permanent Secretary” as Joda and some of his colleagues were referred to in the 70s “distinguished himself as a remarkable scholar, journalist, intellectual, public servant and farmer.’’

President Buhari called Joda “a hero for all Nigerians” who, even in death, “will continue to inspire every generation to move forward with love, brotherhood and harmony.”

He prayed to Allah to accept his good deeds and grant fortitude to those he left behind in his family, Adamawa Emirate Council and the entire people of the state to bear the loss.

Also mourning the former Chairman of Buhari 2015 Transition Committee, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar noted that with his death, “an iroko has fallen.”

The Waziri Adamawa said in his reaction to the news: “Today, our beautiful Adamawa State has lost a colossus. Indeed, an iroko tree has fallen in Nigeria particularly Northern Nigeria.

“The news of the death of Alhaji Ahmed Joda, CFR comes with some kind of a jolt even though he lived to a prime old age.

“He belonged to the first generation of Adamawa indigenes who put our state and the North in the map of modern Nigeria.

“His stature as an accomplished administrator was towering and colourful. He was a shining star in the galaxy of Nigeria’s public servants.

“Ahmed Joda, with a few of his peers, wrote the rule book of Nigeria’s civil service and his footprints will remain indelible.

“As we mourn this great Nigerian with immense contribution to the growth of our country, we pray that the Almighty Allah accepts his soul and provide3 his family with the fortitude to bear the loss of a forthright and iconic patriarch.”

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