A high-powered Federal government delegation has arrived in Saudi Arabia to receive the remains of the late business magnate and elder statesman, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, ahead of his burial in the holy city of Madina.
The delegation, led by the Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, departed Nigeria late Sunday and landed in Madina in the early hours of Monday.
According to a statement by Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, the delegation also includes the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; and the Minister of State for Housing Development, Honourable Yusuf Abdullahi Ata.
Prominent Islamic scholars were also part of the delegation, notably Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, and Khalifa Abdullahi Muhammad, who serves as the Imam of Dantata Mosque in Abuja.
They were received by members of the Nigerian Consulate General in Jeddah, led by Ambassador Muazzam Ibrahim Nayaya, who has been coordinating arrangements for the funeral rites scheduled to hold later on Monday in line with Islamic traditions.
Alhaji Aminu Dantata, one of Nigeria’s business moguls and philanthropists, passed on Friday but his burial was delayed to get necessary approval for his internment in Madina, next to his late wife in line with his final wishes.
Dignitaries and well wishers from within and outside Nigeria are expected to converge on Madina for the funeral prayer.
