Elder statesman and former Minister of Steel Development in the Second Republic, Dr. Paul Unongo is dead.
The former chairman of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), who in 2017, succeeded late Alhaji Maitama Sule as the NEF chairman. He had held several political positions and was involved in constitutional conferences in the past.
Unongo, who hailed from Jato Aka in the Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, died Tuesday morning in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Multiple family sources confirmed the development under the condition of anonymity, saying that the family will issue a formal statement of his death.
A strong politician, he aspired to govern Benue State in 1983 but lost to Aper Aku of blessed memory.
Until his death, Unongo was the chairman of the Governing Council of Nigerian Educational Research Development Council.
Born on September 26, 1935, Paul Unongo, belonged to the Kwaghngise-Anure-Abera ancestry, in Turan, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the demise of Dr. Paul Unongo, describing the development as a loss of an elder statesman to the country.
In a tribute, President Buhari in a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Tuesday night, acknowledged the close relationship he had with the deceased.
He added that “in all the positions he held as a politician and public officer, he displayed a high level of decorum.
“He was a colossus in public life, very articulate and witty. He served his community and the nation extremely well.
“My deepest condolences to the bereaved family, and the government and people of Benue State”, President Buhari stated.
