Ghali Umar Na’abba, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives during the Fourth Republic, has passed away.

According to news reports, he battled an illness until passing away in the early hours of Wednesday. He was 65 years old.

In 1999, Na’abba, a native of Kano State, was chosen to serve in the House of Representatives.

A few months after the House was constituted, Salisu Buhari, the then-Speaker of the same Kano State, resigned due to a scandal involving the falsification of certificates, and he was elected Speaker.

He recently joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition party, after leaving the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).