
President Bola Tinubu has described the late former Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Wantaregh Paul Iyorpuu Unongo, as a man who offered wisdom and vision that surpassed ethnic and religious divides.
President Tinubu said Pa Unongo’s death was a great loss for Nigeria, the North, and the people of Benue State.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the state burial ceremony, on Tuesday, Tinubu stated that his burial is a celebration of a well-lived and well-secured legacy.
Born on September 26, 1935, Wantaregh Unongo, a former Minister of Steel Development in the Second Republic, died on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at the age of 87.
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“Many live long only to contradict the ideals of their younger years, but he was an exception. He remained a model of dignity, humility, and purpose.
“A father figure to generations of scholars, public servants, politicians and community leaders, Pa Unongo demonstrated that leadership can transcend time—that service to one’s people can endure even after retirement from the public stage,” Tinubu said.
He added that he was an exceptional man, “to write a manual on managing excellence,” recalling that from his early days “as a brilliant psychologist revolutionizing academia in Nigeria to his dedication to national service, Pa Unongo’s life testifies to the heights that vision, discipline, and determination can achieve“.