Shettima Leads Mourners at Burial of Former Finance Minister Abubakar Alhaji in Sokoto

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday led mourners at the Janazah (Islamic funeral prayers) of former Minister of Finance and Sardauna of Sokoto, Abubakar Alhaji, who died earlier in the day at the age of 88 after a brief illness.

During his visit to Sokoto, the Vice President paid a condolence visit to Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, where prayers were offered for the repose of the late elder statesman.

Shettima described the deceased as a repository of institutional memory whose contributions to national development would remain enduring. He said Alhaji’s years of service to Nigeria earned him a place in the country’s history and assured that the Federal Government would take steps to immortalise him.

The Vice President also prayed for Allah to grant the late statesman Aljannah Firdaus and give his family the strength to bear the loss.

Abubakar Alhaji served as Minister of National Planning before being appointed Minister of Finance during the military administration of former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida.

Following his tenure in the Finance Ministry, he was appointed Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, a position he held until 1996.

His public service career began in 1964 as an Assistant Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance. He later rose through the ranks to become a Permanent Secretary in the then Federal Ministry of Trade.

Accompanying the Vice President to Sokoto were Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi; and the Special Adviser to the President on General Duties in the Office of the Vice President, Dr Aliyu Modibbo, among other senior government officials.