A former governor of Kaduna State, Lawal Kaita, has passed away after protracted illness. He was 85.
Family sources said Mr Kaita died at Nizamieye Turkish Hospital in Abuja after spending a couple of weeks on life support in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.
Born in 1932 in Katsina, Lawal Kaita was elected governor of Kaduna State on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN, and served from October to December 1983. His administration was cut short by a military coup on the eve of new year.
He was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Nigeria (1977–1978), and later became Special Assistant to President Shehu Shari after losing his first gubernatorial attempt to Peoples Redemption Party, PRP candidate, Balarabe Musa, in 1979.
The late Kaita was a leading member of late Shehu Yar’adua’s political movement, and foundation member of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.