Founding Managing Director of Democrat Newspaper and former President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mallam Ismaila Isa Funtua, is dead.

He died of cardiac arrest Monday night.

He was life patron of Newspaper’s Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and Chairman of Bulet Construcion company.

He will be buried according to Islamic rites on Tuesday in the Federal capital city.

Funtua, a businessman and a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari was chairman of Bulet Construction, which built the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.

Despite closing his newspaper, he remained committed to the print media and a defender of media freedom.

He was life patron of Newspaper’s Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).

*Our earlier post indicating he will be buried Monday night corrected.