As Nigerian politicians align and realign across party lines and other considerations preparatory to the 2027 general elections, stakeholders in Sokoto state are also strategising on who occupies the No. 1 seat at the Government House.
Although Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu, the incumbent governor of the state came to office in 2023 which means he is constitutionally entitled to contest for a second term in 2027, many pundits criticise his performance as below expectations.
However, there are others who believe the governor has not stayed in office enough to determine whether or not he is doing well, arguing that he needs a second term of four years to prove his mettle.
Apart from the governor, six other prominent personalities have been identified as having interest to contest the 2027 elections on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and others.
The six other aspirants are: Hon. Yusuf Sulaiman, Hon. Ma’sud Musa Bashar, Hon. Faruku Malami Yabo, Mallam Saidu Umar, Senator Ibrahim Lamido, Hon. Umar Ajiya and Hon. Umar Bature.
How they stand
Dr Ahmed Aliyu
He is the current governor of Sokoto state and, as is the case in Nigeria, the odds favour him, because of the power of incumbency which throws the apparatus of government at his disposal.
In Sokoto state, critics say the governor has performed poorly, in view of the huge resources at his disposal. They therefore argue that he has no business contesting for reelection in 2027.
But those who support the governor say he has done well within the past two years, especially in giving more children access to quality education, healthcare, improved water supply, especially in Sokoto metropolis housing, solar-powered street light and improved agricultural productivity, among others. The governor is considered to have the right of first refusal due to the above-mentioned factors and especially due to power of incumbency.
Hon. Yusuf Sulaiman
Hon. Sulaiman who was born in 1963 served as Minister of Transportation and later, Minister for Sports under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
He is popular among people of Sokoto state because he comes from the traditional ruling family of the Sokoto Caliphate and was in the state civil service before joining politics.
Following the end of his appointment as minister, he left office in December 2011 and joined the Sokoto governorship contest under the PDP but was defeated at the party primaries.
A technocrat, Sulaiman has experience in administration, having worked at the state and federal levels.
He was director of industry in 1991 and was appointed Executive Director at the National Maritime Authority of Nigeria (now NIMASA).
Analysts say that Sulaiman has good record of service but with poor performance record at the federal level. As minister of transport, his scorecard was said to be less than average which made then President Jonathan to replace and redeploy him to the ministry of sports.
The only achievement recorded in his name at the ministry was the reconciliation of factions in the nation’s football administration.
Hon. Mas’ud Musa Bashar
Ma’sud Musa Bashar is the President of Allena Petroleum Limited as well as Chairman, Almasud Oil and Gas Limited and many other companies.
The 35-year-old Sokoto prince and Tarakin Wazirin Sokoto is one of the most successful young and inspiring entrepreneurs and chief executive officers in the country with business interests that extend to diverse fields including oil, gas and general investment in the energy sector, agriculture, haulage and construction, among others.
As a young man, Mas’ud dared to go into petroleum, energy, gas and other sectors that were usually the preserve of well-established entrepreneurs and has not only excelled, but also built reputable profiles for himself and his numerous business brands.
Well-known for his charity works, Ma’sud has devoted large portion of his wealth to the upliftment of the poor and the underprivileged in the society, through various charity works and philanthropic gestures to people from his immediate community, Sokoto state and other parts of the country.
Through his charity organisation, Ma’sud Dan Musa Foundation, the young entrepreneur feeds thousands, provides food, shelter materials, clothing and water for hundreds of indigent people every year and feeds more than 10,000 during Ramadan fasting while distributing uncooked food items to families.
The foundation also carries of periodic renovation of burial grounds within Sokoto metropolis and environs while hundreds of people benefit from its pilgrimage sponsorship every year while his Ma’sud Dan Musa Academy has become training ground for hundreds of young people who are achieving their dream of playing professional football both at local league level and internationally.
While he is doing well in business, Ma’sud Musa Bashar has his eyes in politics also. In 2023, he indicated interest in the office of the governor of Sokoto state but was prevailed upon by stakeholders, especially elders and traditional rulers to step down his ambition and seek the position of House of Representatives member.
Even as he shelved his plans to contest the position of state governor in 2023, Ma’sud worked assiduously for the victory of President Bola Tinubu as he served as deputy director, APC Presidential Campaign Council in charge of the entire Northwest, the largest geopolitical zone in Nigeria comprising Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara states. The zone is the largest in terms of population and number of votes. He was the youngest politician to serve as deputy zonal director during the election and was so appointed in recognition of his grassroots mobilisation capacity and popularity among young people.
In addition to the above credentials and massive personal achievements, Hon. Ma’sud is being favoured to become the next governor of Sokoto State because of his age, being the youngest among all the identified aspirants so far, in addition of his charity projects that have empowered thousands of young people, especially young men and women who are clamouring for him to contest the 2027 governorship election.
Hon. Faruku Malami Yabo
Born in September 1969, Faruk Malami Yabo was an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Iraq.
He is a Fellow Certified National Accountant (FCNA). He served as commissioner for Finance and later Commissioner for Local Government and Community Development, Sokoto State and was a member, Board of Trustees of the Buhari Campaign organization (BCO).
While in active service, he was also Chairman, Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCT) Sokoto State and was also member of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Joint Tax Board (JTB) and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Peer Review Committee.
In spite of his long track record of service, Faruk Yabo is harshly criticized for the role he played as member on the conditional cash transfer as many said the process was hardly transparent and that hundreds of thousands of names on the list of beneficiaries were fictitious across the country.
Being part of previous administrations both in Sokoto State and at national level, Hon. Malami Yabo is been seen as part of Nigera’s past corrupt history and the reason most Nigerians are clamouring for real change.
Senator Ibrahim Lamido
Ibrahim Lamido is the senator representing Sokoto East Senatorial District. Before he won the 2023 election, Lamido had it rooky in politics but rode on the back of godfatherism to become a senator.
As senator, he has deployed part of his resources to execute some empowerment projects which his supporters listed to include cash donation to widows and other indigent people, allocation of money for student registration fees, grant of ₦50,000 scholarships to some students and purchase of JAMB forms and motorcycles for transportation. He also installed solar-powered boreholes in some communities.
Political and social analysts have however dismissed Lamido as one of non-performing lawmakers who have not added much of their voices to the call for people-oriented leadership.
According to his critics, the job of a lawmaker is to initiate bills, raise motions and contribute in debates aimed of making quality laws of good governance and not “buying bags of noodles,” as some of them are doing.
In addition, Lamido is currently locked in tug-of-war with former governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, who is perceived to be his political godfather. The fight is said to be so bad that many believe it would take a miracle for Lamido to return to the senate, not more becoming governor of Sokoto State in 2027.
Hon. Umar Ajiya
Hon. Umar Ajiya Isah hails from Isa Local Government of Sokoto State.
The former chief finance officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), holds the title of Ajiyan Sokoto, a title said to reflect both his professional accomplishments and his service to the community.
His career at Nigeria’s oil and gas subsectors spanned 22-year and he was reputed to have developed the strategic and financial acumen that later propelled his work in the public energy sector.
Ajiya is also said to have deep understanding of the global gas economy and project financing that combined to make him a valuable asset in the sector.
Although he held other top management positions in the petroleum sector, including Managing Director of Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), is a total novice in politics and community leadership.
Also, as the current co-chair of the Sokoto State Economic Advisory Council, Ajiya cannot exonerate himself from whatever is the fate of Sokoto people under the current administration. Therefore, the question remains, if he has a magic wand, why not apply it to make Sokoto a better place now, rather than aspiring to become governor himself.
Umar Bature
He is a chieftain of the main opposition PDP and its National Organising Secretary.
Rumours have it that Bature ambition to contest for office of Sokoto state governor in 2027 is a joke taken too far, mainly because of his role in the ongoing internal wrangling that has torn the PDP umbrella to shreds.
Bature was elected as a member of the PDP national working committee alongside Senator Iyorchia Ayu and following their dismal performance during the 2023 presidential election that saw President Bola Tinubu of APC defeat Atiku Abubakar, the party threw away Ayu but Bature and some others have been hanging on ever since and have been divided along lines that are laced with ineptitude and lack of focus which combined to make critics ask how can such a character aspire to govern the Seat of the Caliphate?