The immediate past Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Yusuf Bala Bantex, has died.
He was said to have passed on as a result of protracted illness on Sunday. He was aged 64.
Bantex was Deputy Governor of Kaduna State between 2015 to 2019. In 2019 however, he decided to gun for a senatorial seat under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Even though, he clinched his party’s ticket to contest but eventually lost to PDP candidate, Senator Danjuma Laah.
Since then he remained one of the trusted allies of the governor.
In a statement issued by the governor on Sunday, Gov Elrufai said he had lost a dear friend and partner.
“In the midst of trying times, I have received with utter sadness news of the departure of my friend and brother, His Excellency Barnabas Yusuf Bala (Bantex).
“From our days as undergraduates in the 1970s to our practice as professional colleagues in the construction industry and eventually partners in a governance project, Bantex was consistently a dependable man of brilliance and imagination.
“He believed in the potential of our state and in the capacity of our people to work together for progressive attainments.
“Together, we took on the task of providing new leadership for Kaduna State in 2015. He brought to his duties as Deputy Governor during our first term his unique insights as a politician with experience in navigating the diversity of our state.
“Bantex radiated hope and optimism in the future of our state, even when the circumstances were dreary.
“Bantex had served the people of Kaduna State in several capacities prior to becoming Deputy Governor.
“As a delegate to the 1994 Constitutional Conference, chairman of Kaura Local Government Council and member for Kaura Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, he was a sterling symbol of representative democracy.
“We would miss his brilliance and his commitment to Kaduna State, his easygoing manners, his sense of humour and steadfastness to his convictions.
“I have spoken to his family and conveyed our condolence on behalf of the government and people of Kaduna State. We shall work closely with his family to grant a befitting farewell to a man who gave so much to this even when hobbled by ill-health.
“We have been blessed to know Bantex and to work with him. We pray God to grant him peaceful repose and to comfort his wife, children and the entire family in this moment of grief and loss.”
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