Prominent Northern Politician, Umaru Dikko, Passes Away

Umaru Dikko, a prominent northern politician and Minister of Transportation during the Second Republic, passes away today, July 1, according to his son, Dr. Bello Dikko, and another family member.

Mr. Umaru Dikko died early Tuesday in a London hospital at the age of 78, his family in London and Zaria in Kaduna State revealed.

According to Umary Dikko's son, he has been sick for "quite some time" and suffered three strokes in a row.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) forced him to chair the party’s disciplinary committee set up by ousted chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur last year.

One of his close associate told this medium last year that Dikko accepted the job at the risk of his life.

Umaru Dikko was born in 1936, in Wamba. He is a Nigerian politician and was a trusted adviser to President Shehu Shagari. He was also the Nigerian minister for Transportation from 1979-1983.

In 1984, he played the central role in the Dikko Affair; he was found drugged in a crate at Stansted Airport that was being claimed as Diplomatic Baggage, an apparent victim of a government sanctioned kidnapping. The crate’s destination was Lagos.

Source: Legit.ng