–Blank NEWS Online ( NIGERIA) – Front Albert Ograka:

Managing Director of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Bashorun Askia Ogieh, FCNA, CrFA, has described the death of the Emir of Zazzau (Zaria), Alhaji Shehu Idris, as a personal loss of a father and friend who was a close confidant for over three decades.

Bashorun Askia, in a statement in Warri, said “the late Shehu Idris assumed the role of a father to me during my many years in Zaria and indeed my sojourn in the northern parts of Nigeria, mentored me in various ways that are forever fulfilling and enduring. I am blessed to have known him for a long rewarding period.

“He had an uncanny way of building bridges of love across all ethnicities, molding the young and old to imbibe the virtues of brotherliness and to live in peace and harmony. He was a pillar of trust at times of crisis who always deployed his wisdom to benefit all.

“His Royal Highness Shehu Idris, Sariki Zazzau, was a nationalist who bonded across all ethnic divides and was loved by all. I will miss him greatly, his death is a personal loss to me and my family.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to his beloved family, the entire people of Zazzau and Kaduna State. May God grant the peaceful soul of my dear father and friend eternal rest.”