By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A former Minister under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Aisha Jummai Alhassan, fondly called Mama Taraba, has died.
Her death was confirmed on Friday. She was said to have died at a hospital in Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, a North African country.
Mama Taraba was formerly the Minister of Women Affairs before she resigned from the government and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to pursue her governorship ambition in Taraba State ahead of the 2019 elections.
She was a staunch loyalist of the former Vice President of Nigeria, Mr Atiku Abubakar.
The 61-year-old politician trained as a lawyer and was the first female to be appointed Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice. She was also the first woman to be appointed as Secretary FCT judicial council and later appointed the Chief Registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on December 17, 2003.
She was born in Jalingo, Taraba State and represented Taraba North senatorial district of Taraba State at the National Assembly under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The late Mama Taraba later decamped to the APC and became the gubernatorial candidate of the party in Taraba State for the 2015 general elections. She was defeated in the election re-run held on April 25, 2015, but on November 7, 2015, the tribunal removed Mr Darius Ishaku as governor and declared her winner of the April 11, 2015 poll. This was later reversed by the Appeal and Supreme Courts of Nigeria.
Adedapo Adesanya