Ghali Umar Na’Abba, a former speaker of the house of representatives, is dead. He was aged 65. 

The 4th speaker of Nigeria’s green chamber died at the National Hospital in Abuja around 3 am on Wednesday.

Na’Abba was born on September 27, 1958 in Tudun Wada, Kano state.

He was speaker of the house representatives, as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from 1999 to 2003.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979 and completed a postgraduate programme on Leadership and Good Governance at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in the US in 2004. 

He lost his re-election bid to the house in 2003 after falling out with the presidency. As house speaker, Na’Abba was a constant thorn in the flesh of Olusegun Obasanjo, who was Nigeria’s president from 1999 to 2007.

In 2014, Na’Abba defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and remained a political and public commentator until his passing.

The Cable