Turaki-led PDP visits Tukur’s family

The Tanimu Turaki led Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Tuesday, paid a condolence visit to the family of former national chairman of the party, late Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, in Yola.

The party, in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said it also visited the Lamido of Adamawa, the Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, to condole with them over the demise of Tukur, who died last weekend.

According to the statement, Turaki, while speaking during the visit, noted that “according to the Quran, every person who lives will die and go to the great beyond. So, Baba Tukur has gone the way of all mortals.

“We do not mourn his death because all humans will die, but we are pained by the loss of his presence and the concomitant virtues he graciously exuded all through his life, in both private and public engagements.

“Our visit is in recognition of the great legacy he left, not just in Adamawa, old Gongola and Northern Nigeria, but also the impressionable footprints he left on the Nigerian business and political landscape.

“As a party, we are deeply pained by his loss, and we are determined, now more than before, to ensure that the PDP, of which the late icon was one of its founding fathers, remains true to its ideals and is not diluted or compromised.”

The son of the late former national chairman, and the Secretary to the Adamawa State Government, Awwal Tukur, expressed his appreciation to the PDP leaders for the visit.

“For Chairman Turaki, this is his home, and I have known him as a brother. Apart from being the national chairman, you have been a son of Baba, which is why I have called you my elder brother for over three decades.

“Baba took you as a son, and you took him as a father. Today, he is gone, but his legacy lives on. He elegantly bestrode the professional, social, economic and administrative spaces, leaving a great impact in his wake.

“I am happy that, despite all the troubles, the PDP still remains the only legacy party in this country. I say so with pride, knowing the efforts and resources expended, and the risks undertaken, to birth the party.

“I had a first-hand experience, since my late father was one of the founding fathers of the party. I am sure that, even in death, Baba will be happy to see that his party came to pay him a visit,” he was quoted to have said.