MKO Abiola’s only co-contender for Nigeria’s Presidency on June 12, 1993, Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, is dead.
Tofa was Presidential Candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), while Abiola few the presidential flag for the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The Kano-born politician and business magnate was said to have passed on, in the early hours of Monday at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, after a brief illness.
Alhaji Bashir Tofa died 29 years after contesting and losing a presidential election against late Alhaji Mashood Abiola, an election that was botched by the military regime of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.
The death of the elder statesman and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) early went viral on social media last Friday but was later put to rest by a family source, who reportedly confirmed that the former presidential contender was only critically ill as at then.
The burial arrangement is yet to be announced but the deceased may be buried the s Monday in line with Islamic rites.
Tofa’s death came a few days after the ancient city of Kano lost one of its illustrious and foremost medical doctors in Northern Nigeria, Dr Ahmad Datti.
