Elder Statesman, Ahmed Joda Who Headed Buhari’s 2015 Transition Programe Is Dead

Elder statesman, Ahmed Joda who  headed the 2015 Transition Committee of President Muhammadu Buhari is dead.

He was also a former Federal Super Permanent Secretary.

The sad news was confirmed on Friday afternoon by his family members and friends as well as residents of Yola Town in the Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State where he had his home.

Joda began his civil service career in the then Northern Regional Government as later joined the federal civil service and rose to be one of what were known in his time as Super Permanent Secretaries.

He got back to national prominence in 2015 when he headed the 2015 Transition Committee of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Joda, who retired as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industries under the military government of General Yakubu Gowon in the 1970s, has over the decades served as chairman and board member of various notable companies.

The companies include Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Flour Mills of Nigeria, The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), among others.

The deceased had attended Yola Elementary and Middle schools before proceeding to Barewa College, Zaria. After completing his secondary education in 1948, Ahmed Joda was admitted to Moor Plantation, Ibadan, and worked briefly at an agricultural centre in Yola before entering the field of journalism at Gaskiya Corporation, Zaria.

He later worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission serving as the editor of NBC Kaduna and then joined the Northern Nigeria civil service as Chief Information Officer and later permanent secretary in the regional Ministry of Information. In 1967, he became a federal permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information.