Former Abia State Governor and Chairman Senate Committee on South East Development Commission, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has mourned the passing of a former Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Prof Jubril Aminu, who died at the age of 85 yesterday.

On a post on his X handle yesterday, Kalu said: “I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Prof Jubril Aminu, a distinguished scholar, diplomat, and politician. He was a man of great intellect and integrity, whose service to Nigeria inspired generations.

“As Minister of Education and later Minister of Petroleum Resources, his visionary leadership helped shape critical sectors of our country. He was a true elder statesman and very personal to me.”

Aminu, a professor of cardiology and politician, studied medicine and obtained an MBBS from the University of Ibadan in 1965, and a PhD in Medicine from the Royal Post-Graduate Medical School, London in 1972.

He held several academic and political offices, including Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, where he earlier served as Professor of Medicine; Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States from 1999 to 2003; Senator representing Adamawa Central senatorial district from 2003 to 2011under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“His legacy will continue to live on through the countless lives he touched and the institutions he helped build. Nigeria has lost one of her finest brains,” Kalu wrote.