A high-powered Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, has arrived in Madina, Saudi Arabia, to receive the remains of late business mogul and elder statesman, Alhaji Aminu Dantata.
Naijaonpoint reports that Dantata, one of Nigeria’s most respected industrialists and philanthropists, passed away recently while in Saudi Arabia.
His burial in Madina underscores his deep Islamic faith and the esteem in which both religious and political leaders hold him. Moreover, Dantata had reportedly left a will stating his wish to be buried next to his late wife, Rabi Dantata, who died in 2023.
The Federal Government’s delegation departed Nigeria late on Sunday and touched down in the holy city of Medina in the early hours of Monday, ahead of the funeral rites.
Top Ministers, Clerics Join Delegation
According to the Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Rabiu Ibrahim, members of the delegation include the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; and the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Honourable Yusuf Abdullahi Ata.
Also part of the delegation are renowned Islamic clerics including Dr Bashir Aliyu Umar, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, and Khalifa Abdullahi Muhammad, who serves as the Imam of the Dantata Mosque in Abuja.
Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah Finalising Arrangements
Meanwhile, officials of the Nigerian Consulate General in Jeddah, led by Ambassador Muazzam Ibrahim Nayaya, are coordinating final preparations for the funeral, which is scheduled to be held later on Monday in Madina.
“The Federal Government stands with the Dantata family and the entire nation in mourning the loss of a visionary leader whose legacy will endure for generations,” a senior member of the delegation said.
The Federal Government’s gesture in sending a delegation underscores the national significance of his passing.