The immediate past deputy governor of Kaduna state, Mr. Barnabas Bala (Bantex), is dead.

Family sources said, Bantex, 64, died on Sunday in an Abuja hospital following a protracted illness.

He was deputy to Governor Nasir El-Rufai between 2015 and 2019 after which he resigned to contest for Kaduna South Senate seat in 2019 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but lost to Senator Danjuma La’ah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He was at one time Chairman of Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

He represented Kaura federal constituency in the House of Representatives between 2007 – 2011 on the platform of the PDP.

Meanwhile Governor Nasir El-Rufai has expressed shock over the death of his former deputy who he described as a consistently, dependable and brilliant man.

In a statement he personally signed, El-Rufai said, “In the midst of trying times, I have received with utter sadness news of the departure of my friend and brother, His Excellency Barnabas Yusuf Bala (Bantex).”

He recalled that, from their 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.

“He believed in the potential of our state and in the capacity of our people to work together for progressive attainments.”

El-Rufai said, “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.”

The governor said:

“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”.

Source: This Day