Bala Bawa Ka’oje, a former Nigerian sports minister is dead.
Ka’oje who was Nigeria’s 26th sports minister from 2006 to 2007 in succession to Saidu Sambawa died in Abuja on Tuesday morning and has been buried in the country’s capital city.
His death threw the Nigerian sports fraternity into grief. He was aged 60.
Amongst many others, the Nigeria Football Federation expressed its shock and sadness at his passing, with the NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi describing the deceased as “a dignified and unassuming public servant who showed great passion and interest in the development and improvement of Nigeria sports.”
Quietly intelligent, diligent and a man of high integrity, Ka’oje is on record to have conveyed to then NFA (for onward conveyance to world football –governing body, FIFA) in February 2007, the abrogation of Decree 101 hitherto governing the administration of football in Nigeria, and government’s recognition of the approval by then NFA’s Annual General Meeting of the Statutes and its standing orders as the sole regulatory instrument for football administration in Nigeria.
Born in Kebbi State on 20th September 1960, Bala Bawa Ka’oje earned a master’s degree in structural engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
His remains were interred in Abuja on Tuesday afternoon. The NFF was represented by the General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi and Head of Member Associations, Ali Abubakar Muhammed.
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