News
Buhari’s Close Ally, Isa Funtua, Died After Driving Self To Hospital
Founding Managing Director of Democrat Newspaper and former President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mallam Ismaila Isa Funtua, is dead. The late elder statesman was aged 76.
The close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari died on Monday night shortly after driving himself to a hospital.
Funtua, who was a former Minister in the Second Republic, reportedly felt unease at about 4 pm.
The Nation learnt he did not take things for granted and he drove himself to a hospital where he died.
A source said: “It is difficult to confirm what really happened but he lost the battle after getting to the hospital.
“Some said it was cardiac arrest but only his doctors can conform what went wrong. ”
An in-law to Buhari, the deceased would be buried on Tuesday.
Until his death, he was one of the most influential politicians and businessmen in Nigeria.
Funtua served as a Federal Minister in the Second Nigerian Republic.
After government service, Isa Funtua went into business where he cultivated clients, business associates and friends who extended his interests beyond the normal scope of a businessman.
He was also a prominent member of the infamous Kaduna Mafia. The Kaduna Mafia is a loose group of Nigerian businessmen, civil servants, intellectuals and military officers from Northern Nigeria.