A former permanent secretary and one of Nigeria’s living elder statesmen, Ahmed Joda is dead.
Joda, an administrator, journalist and politician, died at the age of 91 at Federal Medical Center, (FMC) Yola following a brief illness today.
Confirming the death, Mohammed Baba, a long time associate of Joda confirmed that the elder statesman died this afternoon.
A source close to the family told this paper that the Joda has already been taken to the cemetery for burial.
“As I’m talking to you, the elder statesman has already been taken to the family cemetery for burial,” the source said.
Ahmed Joda was born in Girei local government area of Adamawa State and attended Yola Elementary and Middle schools before proceeding to Barewa College.
In the 1950s, he attended Pitman College, London and gained practical experience in journalism while staying in Britain.
After completing his secondary education in 1948, Ahmed Joda was admitted to Moor Plantation, Ibadan.
He worked briefly at an agricultural centre in Yola before entering the field of journalism at Gaskiya Corporation, Zaria.
He later worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) serving as the editor of NBC Kaduna and then joined the Northern Nigeria civil service as Chief Information Officer and later permanent secretary in the regional Ministry of Information.
In 1967, he became a federal permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and subsequently moved to Lagos.
It is worthy to note that he was the chairman of the 18-member transition committee, nominated by General Muhammadu Buhari to receive the handover notes from the Goodluck Jonathan led administration in 2015.
Also worthy of note is the fact that he was the chairman of the transition committee in 1979 when General Obasanjo handed over to President Shagari.
In 2015, the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari gave him similar roles in an epoch-making election that saw the opposition defeating the ruling party for the first time in Nigeria.
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