Former Minister of Women Affairs, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, has passed away at the age of 61.
Alhassan, who was also a former Senator who represented Taraba North Senatorial District, reportedly died in Cairo, Egypt on Friday.
However, the cause of her death remains sketchy as at the time of filing this report.
Alhassan was popular called ‘Mama Taraba’ for her landmark achievements in Taraba.
The former senator was born on the 16th of September, 1959 in Jalingo, Taraba State, to Alhaji Abubakar Ibrahim, Sarkin Ayukan Muri.
In 2015, Alhassan contested for the gubernatorial election of Taraba under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). The election, which was keenly contested between Alhassan and the incumbent Governor Darius Ishaku, was trailed by a protracted legal tussle.
The Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) declared Ishaku as the winner of the election, however the tribunal nullified the mandate, declaring Alhassan as the governor.
She was set to become the first female governor of Nigeria until the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court upturned the ruling of the Tribunal, declaring Ishaku as the winner of the election.
In 2019, she also contested for Taraba governorship on the platform of United Democratic Party (UDP) after quitting APC but lost again to Ishaku.
She was also a lawyer. She became the first female to be appointed as the Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice; also the first woman to be appointed as Secretary Federal Capital Territory (FCT) judicial council. She also served as the Chief Registrar of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja.
