Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday led a high-level delegation of dignitaries and mourners to the National Mosque in Abuja for the funeral prayers of the late elder statesman and respected academic, Professor Jibril Aminu.
Professor Aminu, a renowned cardiologist, former Minister of Education and Petroleum, and one-time Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, passed away earlier that day at the age of 85 after a prolonged illness.
Arriving at the mosque at 1:52 p.m., Vice President Shettima offered condolences to the bereaved family, praying for Allah’s comfort and for the late professor to be granted Aljanna Firdaus as his final resting place.
Describing Aminu’s death as a profound national loss, Shettima hailed him as an intellectual giant and statesman of rare distinction. “Prof. Jibril Aminu was the last of the great titans—an iconic figure whose contributions to Nigeria’s development are deeply etched in history,” Shettima said in a statement issued by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President).
He continued: “He served as Executive Secretary of the NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, and held ministerial positions in key sectors. His legacy is one that cannot be easily replaced. May Allah grant him eternal rest and grant his family the strength to bear this immense loss. His passing is a loss not only to Adamawa State but to the entire nation and continent.”
Among those who joined the Vice President at the Jana’iza (funeral prayer) were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Special Adviser to the President on General Duties Dr. Aliyu Modibbo, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Yayale Ahmed, former Adamawa State Governor Admiral Murtala Nyako, former Gombe State Governor Senator Danjuma Goje, former Chief of Army Staff General Tukur Buratai (rtd), former Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman, and former Minister of State for Health Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.
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