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Alhaji Bashir Tofa, one of the leading candidates in the 1993 Presidential election, which was adjudged the freest and fairest in the country, is dead.
Details of his death are still sketchy but the elder statesman was said to have been ill for a while.
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One of Tofa’s daughters, who had debunked the rumors of his death when it trended on social media three days ago, confirmed his demise on Monday morning.
Until his death, Tofa was known for speaking up for the country and suggesting ideas through which some of the crisis affecting Nigeria could be tackled.
Tofa, candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in the 1993 election, ran against the late MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Daily Trust understands that burial plans are underway. A family source said he would be buried around 9am.
Born on June 20, 1947, Tofa had his primary education at Shahuci Junior Primary, Kano and then continued studies at City Senior Primary School in Kano.
Between 1962 and 1966, he attended Provincial College, Kano. After completing his studies at the Provincial school, he worked for Royal Exchange Insurance company from 1967 to 1968. From 1970 to 1973, he attended City of London College.
His sojourn into politics started in 1976 when he was elected councilor of Dawakin Tofa Local Government Council. In 1977, he was elected a member into the Constituent Assembly. During the Nigerian Second Republic, Tofa was at various times the secretary of the Kano branch of NPN, he later became the party’s national financial secretary and was a national member of the Green Revolution National Committee.
