Preparations are in top gear for the remains of the Borno State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha who passed on in his sleep on Saturday morning to be laid to rest.Mustapha, aged 49, would be given a state burial today at 4pm.
At the moment, his corpse is being expected at the Maiduguri International Airport from Yola, where he breathed his last.
The deputy governor, according to a statement by the Secretary to Borno State Government, Alhaji Usman Jidda Shuwa died in his sleep in Yola, Adamawa state where he had gone to represent the state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima at the convocation ceremony of Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology, Yola.
The statement announcing his death signed by the Borno SSG, read: "It is with deep sense of utter shock and disbelief but with complete submission to the will of the Almighty Allah that the Borno State Government hereby announces the passing away of His Excellency, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, the Deputy Governor of Borno State.
He died in his sleep this morning (Saturday) in Yola, Adamawa State where he was to represent Borno State Government at the convocation ceremony of Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology, Yola.
He was also scheduled to follow up on his earlier visit to Yola, in connection with the welfare of Borno State citizens internally displaced as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency."
The statement also stated that: "His remains would be brought to Maiduguri for funeral at the Government House, Maiduguri at 4pm today, Saturday, 15th August, 2015. He will be buried in Maiduguri."
His Excellency, Hon. Kashim Shettima, the Executive Governor of Borno State, expresses his heartfelt condolence to the family of the Deputy Governor and the entire people of Borno State for the irreparable loss and appealed for prayers for the repose of the soul of our late Deputy Governor." The statement further said.
Mustapha would be remembered for his passion for the welfare of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and for his forthrightness and saying things the way they are without colouration.
He is seen in many cycles in the state as one of the major brains and brawl behind the success of the Kashim Shettima administration where he has been made to chair many important committees, among which is the Amirul- Hajj for the past three years, the committee in charge of the Lagacy Estate, the committee on internally displaced persons, IDPs among others.
Born in Biu, his hometown in 1966, the late Mustapha had a stint at the Nigerian Navy briefly, he resigned in 1993, to establish a clearing and forwarding business in Lagos.
He later joined politics with the return of democracy in 1999 and contested for the position of Chairman of Biu Local Government Council under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but loss the contest.
After losing the battle to become the deputy governor of the state in 2007, he was compensated with the appointment of the Chairman of the National Library Board.
He also attempted running for the same deputy governorship ticket with Alhaji Kashim Imam on the platform of PDP in 2011; but they both lost at the primaries, he decamped from the PDP and formed an alliance with the now defunct All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) and was immediately abducted the running mate of Alhaji Kashim Shettima, they were both successful at the poll and were swore in on May 29, 2011.
He re-contested the position in 2015 alongside Governor Kashim Shettima and won for the second term.
His last engagement in the state was the inauguration of the 2015 Amirul Hajj committee in his office on Wednesday before traveling to Yola, the Adamawa state capital, where he died peacefully in his sleep.
He was the first serving state deputy governor to die while in office. He is survived by his wife and three children.
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