Bamanga Tukur, former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former governor of Gongola State, is dead. He was 90.

Family sources confirmed his death on Saturday, although the circumstances surrounding his passing were not immediately disclosed.

Tukur died three days before his 91st birthday, having been born on September 15, 1935.

He was one of Nigeria's prominent political figures whose career spanned the military and civilian administrations, the private sector and continental business circles.

Tukur began his public service career with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), where he rose to become General Manager and served between 1975 and 1982.

He later ventured into elective politics and won the governorship election in the then Gongola State in 1983. His tenure was, however, cut short following the military coup of December 1983.

After leaving office, Tukur went into business and founded BHI Holdings, popularly known as the DADDO Group of Companies.

He returned to government in 1993 when he was appointed Minister of Industries under the military administration of General Sani Abacha, serving until 1995.

Beyond Nigeria, Tukur played significant roles in African business and economic affairs. He served as Executive President of the African Business Roundtable and Chairman of the NEPAD Business Group, while also holding advisory positions with several international trade organisations.

In March 2012, he returned to partisan politics and was elected National Chairman of the PDP with the backing of then-President Goodluck Jonathan.

His tenure as PDP chairman was marked by prolonged internal disagreements within the party, eventually leading to his resignation in January 2014.

Tukur had earlier been a presidential aspirant during the Third Republic and also held the traditional title of Tafidan Adamawa.

In recognition of his contributions to public service, the Federal Government honoured him with the national award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). The Republic of Togo also conferred on him the Commander of the Order of the Mono (COM).

Tukur is survived by his wives, children and grandchildren.