Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has been paying tribute to his friend, former deputy, fellow architect and classmate, Barnabas Yusuf Bala Bantex, describing him as a “consistently, dependable man of brilliance and imagination”.
El-Rufai, who revealed that he had been with the departed since their undergraduate days at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in the 1970s, described Bantex’s death as a huge loss.
“From our days as undergraduates in the 1970s to our practice as professional colleagues in the construction industry and eventually partners in a governance project, Bantex was consistently a dependable man of brilliance and imagination,” El-Rufai said.
“He believed in the potential of our state and in the capacity of our people to work together for progressive attainments.
“Together, we took on the task of providing new leadership for Kaduna State in 2015. He brought to his duties as Deputy Governor during our first term his unique insights as a politician with experience in navigating the diversity of our state. Bantex radiated hope and optimism in the future of our state, even when the circumstances were dreary.
“Bantex had served the people of Kaduna State in several capacities prior to becoming Deputy Governor. As a delegate to the 1994 Constitutional Conference, chairman of Kaura Local Government Council and member for Kaura Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, he was a sterling symbol of representative democracy.
“We would miss his brilliance and his commitment to Kaduna State, his easygoing manners, his sense of humour and steadfastness to his convictions.”
“I have spoken to his family and conveyed our condolence on behalf of the government and people of Kaduna State. We shall work closely with his family to grant a befitting farewell to a man who gave so much to this even when hobbled by ill-health.”
“We have been blessed to know Bantex and to work with him. We pray God to grant him peaceful repose and to comfort his wife, children and the entire family in this moment of grief and loss.”
