A close associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, Ismaila Isa Funtua, has died after a brief illness. He was aged 78.
Funtua died on Monday allegedly from cardiac arrest while undergoing what was supposed to be a routine medical checkup in Abuja.
In his condolence message, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed deep sadness over the death of his friend and political associate, Isa Funtua
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President described Funtua’s death as a big loss to the Media industry
Funtua was a longtime friend and associate of President Buhari and until his death, was Life Patron of International Press Institute and Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
Born in Funtua, Katsina, President Buhari’s home state, Funtua was a pioneer student of the Federal Training Centre, Kaduna. He trained as an administrative officer at the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, and also attended Manchester University in the UK.
President Buhari condoled with family members, government and people of Katsina State, and all associates of the former President of NPAN, especially the media industry, on the loss, describing him as “greatly admired and respected’’.
He said that the death of Funtua has created a huge gap as Malam Funtua consistently stood by him on his political journey.
Buhari prayed to Allah for repose of Malam Funtua’s soul, and to grant the family strength and fortitude to bear the loss.
Funtua, was Minister of Water Resources in the defunct Second Republic. In his public and private endeavours, he carried done what he believed was good for Nigeria
Following the death of Abba Kyari, president Buhari’s former Chief of Staff, his name was mentioned as a possible replacement, but he declined.
He was quoted as saying on BBC Hausa: “I heard people mentioning my name to replace Abba Kyari but I take the story as an insult instead. I have once worked with the government in the 80s, worked with white men and also was once a Minister of the Federal republic. For someone to mention my name for that position is an insult especially for a man who served as a minister nearly 40 years ago and out of government”.
He was a member of the 1994-1995 Constitutional Conference, and was on the committee that suggested models in key areas of the coountry’s existence. These included a special committee of 37 people on zoning and rotational presidency, which resolved that rotation of power between the North and South be entrenched in the Constitution.
He was the Monitor General of the Course 9 of the prestigious National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, and also served the Katsina Native Authority for seven years as Administrative Officer.
He also worked in various ministries in the defunct Northern Region before he was sent by the Northern Region government as the Personnel Manager of the 10,500 strong United Nigerian Textile Company, Kaduna.
Funtua was elected Vice President when MKO Abiola was President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN. He declined to succeed MKO as President while the latter being incarcerated by General Sani Abacha. He later became the President of the NPAN.
Funtua, who was the youngest minister in the administration of President Shehu Shagari, was a defender of a free press and free speech, philanthropist, humanist, chairman and director of many successful companies. Until his death on Monday, Funtua was a life patron of the NPAN.
