Atiku’s longstanding ally Njidda Pariya is dead

A personal assistant and longstanding ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Njidda Pariya, is dead.

A statement by his son-in-law and Sarkin Matasa Adamawa, Aliyu Wakili Boya, said the former Customs officer died Tuesday morning in Dubai.

“I lost my father-in-law, Alhaji Njidda Pariya this morning. May Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Jannatul Firdaus,” Mr Boya said.

Before his death, Mr Pariya was contending with debilitating health challenges, culminating in his admission into a Dubai hospital for a long time.

Mr Pariya worked with the Nigerian Customs Service before becoming a personal assistant to Mr Abubakar.

President Muhammadu Buhari expressed condolence to the former vice president.

Spokesperson Femi Adesina quoted Mr Buhari as saying, “I received the news of the death of your close aide, Alhaji Pariya, with a heavy heart. It is very touching to lose such a personal aide of many years. May Allah grant you the strength to bear the irreparable loss.

‘‘May Allah grant his family the strength to absorb the impact of this death forgive his shortcomings and reward his good deeds in the hereafter.”

Also, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.

A statement signed by the governor’s Director-General, Media and Communications, Solomon Kumangar, said the death of Mr Pariya came to the governor as a rude shock.

“Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has extended his heartfelt condolences to the family of late Njidda Pariya, the personal assistant to the former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who just passed on.

” The governor considers late Njidda Pariya as an illustrious son whose death is a great loss to the state and the country at large,” it stated.