Gidado Idris

Gidado Idris died after a brief illness in an Abuja hospital on a Friday night, 15 December 2017.

When the military overthrew the Second Republic in December 1983, Gidado resumed his service at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos; was Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministries of Police Affairs; Aviation and Finance at various times before he was appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) by General Sani Abacha in December 1995.he continued to serve as SGF under General Abdulsalami Abubakar till he retired from public service in 1999. As the SGF he was the engine room of the federal government policies and head of the federal public service that implemented the policies and midwifed the successful transition to civil rule in 1999. Alhaji Gidado Idris also contributed to produce the 254-page 1979 constitution without reconvening the Constituent Assembly for which General Obasanjo awarded him the national honour of CON. After the death of General Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998, it was Alhaji Gidado Idris as the Secretary of the Armed Forces Ruling Council in his position as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation who conducted the stormy meeting of the council where General Abdulsalami Abubakar emerged as the new Head of State in the early hours of June 9, 1998 in Abuja.

Gidado Idris married three wives: Rabiat, Hajiya Abu And Maryam. His first wife Rabiat died in 1977, while Hajiya Abu is divorced and Maryam is alive. He had 12 children. His most notable daughter is Aishatu Gidado Idris, who is a writer.

He served as Private Secretary to Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto and subsequently served as District Officer (DO) at various times in Benue, Sardauna and Adamawa Provinces of the then Northern Region. He was actually with Sardauna hours before mutinous soldiers assassinated the Premier during the first military coup of January 15, 1966. This career civil servant subsequently served as Permanent Secretary in the defunct North Central State, now Kaduna and Katsina states from 1971-75. He was appointed Secretary to the Constitution Drafting Committee [CDC] under Chief Rotimi Williams in 1975 and in 1976 he served as Secretary to the Constituent Assembly that produced the 1979 Constitution which ushered in the Second Republic. During the four years of the Second Republic [1979-83], Alhaji Gidado Idris also served as Clerk to the National Assembly.

Gidado had his early education in Zaria. He went to Zaria elementary School from 1942–46, and Zaria Middle School from 1952-1957. He later proceeded to the Institute of Administration, Zaria and University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. He joined the civil service before Nigeria's independence and was in that service until 1999.

Alhaji Gidado Idris, GCON (15 March 1935 – 15 December 2017) was a Nigerian civil servant who served as the Secretary to the Government and Head of Service of the federation in Nigeria between the year 1995-1999, during the military regime of General Sani Abacha.