President Bola Tinubu has felicitated former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, on his 70th birthday.
Tinubu, in a message personally signed by him, commended Mustapha’s contributions to national development.
He described the former SGF as “a patriot, bridge-builder and dedicated public servant who served the country with integrity, humility and commitment.”
The president said that Mustapha, as former SGF, left behind an institutional memory that the country would continue to draw from.
He said that “as SGF under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Mustapha was the calm head and steady hand during some of the nation’s most turbulent moments.
“From steering the Federal Executive Council to coordinating government policies and
initiatives, he worked efficiently and effectively.
“As Chairman of the Presidential Task Force, he led our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic and helped to save millions of lives.
“Boss Mustapha discharged his duties in a way that made Nigeria a shining example in Africa and beyond him and a bridge-builder.”
Tinubu said that Mustapha managed the complexities of government with tact, kept the machinery of state running and earned the respect of colleagues across party lines.
According to him, beyond public office, Mustapha is a devoted family man, a community leader from Adamawa and a man of deep conviction.
“To me, he is a friend and brother with whom we navigated different political struggles, including the June 12 debacle. During this time, he chaired the Adamawa State Chapter of our defunct Social Democratic Party.
The President added that “for combating that public health emergency, our country must remain forever grateful to Mustapha’s approaches; he took every task with diligence, integrity and grace, even under pressure.
“Boss Mustapha embodies the best of the Nigerian civil service tradition; a lawyer, a manager, Boss was also the Deputy National Chairman of our Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
“He worked with the then Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, myself and others to consummate the merger with the late President Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change and other legacy parties that gave us the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
Mustapha was born in 1956 in Garaha, a village located in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa in the North East, attended primary school in Hong, Adamawa and proceeded to North East College of Arts and Sciences in Maiduguri, Borno for his high school education.
He attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria where he received Bachelor of Law (LL.B) in 1979 and proceeded to Nigeria Law School, Lagos, for mandatory one-year law class and graduated in 1980.
He was called to Nigerian Bar in the same year and did his one-year mandatory national service between 1980 and 1981.
He served as a member of several boards of companies in the manufacturing, financial services, and oil and gas sectors, described as a “boardroam guru.”
