Ciroma, Ex-CBN Governor Is Dead

A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (1975-1977), Mallam Adamu Ciroma, is dead.

Aged 83, Ciroma, also a former Finance Minister (1999-2003) during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, was said to have passed away yesterday at the Turkish Nizamiye Hospital, Abuja after a protracted illness.

Ciroma was a major actor during the political shift from military to civilian rule in 1999 as a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Born November 20, 1934, in Potiskum, Yobe State, Ciroma was one of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) presidential aspirants who contested in the NPN presidential primary in 1979.

Ciroma was later secretary of the NPN and served at various times as Minister for Industries, Agriculture and Finance during the Shehu Shagari regime.

Born in Potiskom, Yobe State, he was a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), one-time presidential aspirant under the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1979. He came third in the primary, behind Shehu Shagari and Mallam Maitama Sule

Ciroma was briefly the secretary of the NPN and he later served at various times as Minister for Industries, Agriculture and Finance. As a senior cabinet minister in the Shagari administration, he played pivotal roles in the implementation of the president’s agenda especially in the areas of food production and working with international agencies to develop an Agricultural Development Project (ADP) In September 1983, he was made the chairman of a presidential transition committee, which further demonstrated the trust the president had in his capabilities.

In the Fourth Republic, Ciroma was a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and served as Minister of Finance under Chief Ousegun Obasanjo’s  administration.

Currently, his wife Maryam Ciroma holds the position of PDP National Women leader in Nigeria.