Gov Fintiri names major street after late statesman Mahmud Tukur

Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has named a major street in the state capital, Yola, after a prominent son of the soil and former minister, Dr Mahmud Tukur.

A street famously called Abuja Road in Yola South Local Government Area is now to bear Dr Mahmud Tukur Street, courtesy of Fintiri’s decision to immortalise Mahmud Tukur, who is the brother of Bamangar Tukur, a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Described as a scholar of high repute and a philanthropist of note, Dr Mahmud Tukur was the pioneer Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, and then Minister of Commerce and Industry when the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, was Nigeria’s military head of state.

Mahmud Tukur was known to be a close ally of Buhari, and he reportedly linked his fellow Adamawa native Aisha to Buhari, leading to the marriage between both.

Mahmud Tukur died in 2021 at age 82 after what was termed a meritorious service to Adamawa State and the nation.

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The General Manager of the Adamawa State Urban and Regional Planning Development Board, Alice Ambrose, confirmed that the Abuja Road in Yola Town of Yola will now be called Dr Mahmud Tukur Road.

She said the late Dr Mahmud Tukur was one of Adamawa’s illustrious sons who left a good legacy that should not be forgotten, and naming such a major road after him will make people remember him in their daily prayers.

“The Late Dr Mahmud Tukur was a national leader, and immortalising him this way is the best that humanity can do for him,” she said.

Born in 1939 in Yola, Mahmud Tukur obtained his first degree in International Affairs and Political Science at the University of Wales. He obtained a master’s degree in International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD in Public Management at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.