Shehu Shagari

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, says former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, was a quintessential public servant.

Shagari, Nigeria’s first executive president, died at the National Hospital, Abuja, on Friday evening after a brief illness. He was aged 93.

His grandson, Bello Shagari, announced the death on his Twitter handle, @Belshagy.

Saraki, whose reaction came in two tweets via his verified Twitter handle, said the late elder statesman “dedicated his best years in the service of our nation and its people.”

He said, “My family and I join the entire nation to mourn the passing of former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, who led our nation in the Second Republic.

“President Shagari was a quintessential public servant, haven served in seven cabinet positions and as a legislator.

“He dedicated his best years in service of our nation and its people.

“May Allah grant him a place among the righteous ones in Aljannah Firdaus.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Shagari led the country under the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), between 1979 and 1983.

The former leader was born Feb. 25, 1925 in Shagari town in Sokoto State.

After his early education, he worked as a teacher for a brief period before entering politics in 1951.

In 1954, he was elected to the House of Representatives.

He served seven times in a ministerial or cabinet post as a federal minister and federal commissioner from 1958–1975, before he was elected president in 1979.