FORMER presidential aspirant who contested in the 1979 primary election under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Mallam Adamu Ciroma, is dead.

He died today (Thursday) in Abuja at the age of 83, family sources confirmed.

Malam Ciroma was the governor of the Central bank of Nigeria between 1975 and 1977

A founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he was appointed as finance minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo administration from 1999 to 2003.

He was also minister of agriculture and managing director of New Nigerian newspapers.

In one of his last public statements,  he took a swipe  at the ruling party, APC.

The essence of politics was to improve the well being of the common man, but the APC appeared to be working contrary to this objective, he said.

Ciroma was born in 20 November 1934 in Potiskun, Yobe State.