Mr Barnabas Bala-Bantex, immediate- past Deputy Governor of Kaduna State during the first tenure of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai, has died at the age of 64, a family source confirmed.
Mr Banta Bala, eldest son of the deceased, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that the former deputy governor passed away in Abuja on Sunday, after a protracted ailment.
Born in December 1956 in Kagoro, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Bala-Bantex attended Tagwai Sambo Model Primary School, Manchok, and Federal Government College, Warri, for his primary and secondary education.
He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Architectuure from the University of Lagos, and a Masters Degree in Architecture with distinction from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981.
He lectured at the University of Jos, before venturing into private practice by establishing Bantex Consortium, a construction firm.
Bala-Bantex represented Kaura Local Government Area at the National Constituents Assembly, and later became a two-term Chairman of the Local Government Council.
He served in the House of Representatives under the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), representing Kaura Federal Constituency.
He became the State Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2014, and in May 29, 2015, sworn-in as the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State.
He bowed out after four years to contest the Kaduna South Senatorial District during the 2019 General Elections, under the platform of the APC, but lost to the incumbent Senator, Dr Danjuma La’ah of the Peoples Democratic Party. (NAN)
