The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajuddeen Abbas, has lost an elder brother, Aminu Pate.
Naijaonpoint learnt that a statement issued by the Media and Publicity Officer of the Zazzau Emirate Council, Malam Abdullahi Kwarbai, disclosed that Pate died in the late hours of Wednesday.
Kwarbai said that Abbas’ brother died after a protracted illness at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital(ABUTH), Zaria.
He said that the deceased is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Kwarbai said the deceased was also a retired civil servant who had risen to the rank of Director of Personnel Management and had served in various Local government councils of Kaduna State.
According to him, the funeral prayers for the repose of the deceased’s soul will be held at the Emir Zazau’s Palace by 2:30 pm on Thursday.
Until his death, Aminu Pate held the traditional title of Wamban Dawakin Zazzau.
In other news, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has reacted to the recent remarks and subsequent retraction by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, over Nigeria’s rising debt profile.
The opposition party described the Speaker’s backpedalling as a missed opportunity for courageous leadership.
Naijaonpoint reports that the House of Representatives Speaker was quoted to have raised an alarm over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, warning that it has surpassed the statutory ceiling and now poses a serious threat to fiscal sustainability.
Speaking on Monday at the opening of the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC) at the National Assembly, Abuja, Abbas who was represented by a member of the House, Babatunde Salam, said Nigeria’s debt had reached “a critical point.”
However, hours later, in a rebuttal by his media aide, the Speaker said he never called for a blanket condemnation of borrowing and supports responsible public debt when properly managed, including oversight functions.
He added that under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria has met its 2025 revenue target ahead of schedule, without reliance on borrowing
But in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the Speaker’s initial admission that the country’s debt has crossed critical levels was a rare moment of honesty from within the ruling party.
The ADC, however, lamented that his quick withdrawal reflects the growing culture of political cowardice and legislative complicity.
The party warned that, with unchecked borrowing and a National Assembly it called “the most compliant in recent history,” Nigeria’s future is being dangerously mortgaged with the full complicity of this National Assembly.
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