Ismaila Isa Funtua, a millionaire businessman and close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, has died.
Funtua, a minister in Nigeria’s Second Republic, died after a brief illness on Monday, July 20, 2020.
President Buhari’s aide, Bashir Ahmad, announced on his Twitter account that Funtua’s death was sudden. The deceased was one those rumoured to belong to a cabal of associates who influence key decisions made in Buhari’s administration.
In January, Funtua expressed his disagreement with the fact that ‘cabal’ was being used in a derogatory sense by Nigerians, and said he didn’t belong to one.
“What is cabal? In short I think it means kitchen cabinet, people that you trust.
“People you believe will not deceive you, that they can do things in the interest of the country,” he said