Former Civilian Governor of Borno State, Mohammed Goni has died from an illness, sources close to his family say.
Governor Goni according some impeccable sources died on Wednesday night at a private hospital in Maiduguri after a brief illness.
He served as governor of the state during the second republic, between 1979 to 1983.
There is no official statement yet from Borno State Government but the social media is awashed with the news of the demise of the former Governor.
According to his Wikipedia page, In April 1979, Mohammed Goni resigned from the National Supply Company and entered politics.
He was elected as the first civilian governor of the former Borno State, on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP), and was in office from October 1979 to September 1983.
He was also part of the Progressives Coalition led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Goni founded the Borno Radio Television (BRTV) to counter the propaganda which was being pumped out of the Federal Government owned and sponsored Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
In retrospect, his period of office was considered one of achievement when compared with his successors.
Before the 1983 elections, Goni transferred to the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), running unsuccessfully for reelection against the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) candidate Sheikh Jarma.
In the case of Federal Electoral Commission v Alhadji Mohammed Goni (1983), the Supreme Court of Nigeria condemned cross-carpeting by political officeholders.
