Yusuf Maitama Tuggar (born 12 March 1967) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician and diplomat who since 2017 is the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany. He was previously a member of the

Nigerian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Nigeria's bicameral National Assembly. The Senate is the upper chamber. The House of Representatives has 360 members who are elected in single-member constituencies using the plurality ( ...

from 2007 to 2011 representing

Gamawa Gamawa is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria, bordering Yobe State in the east. Its headquarters are in the town of Gamawa. It has an area of 2,925 km and a population of 286,388 at the 2006 census. The predominant ethnic gr ...

; and he has run twice for

Governor of Bauchi State This is a list of administrators and governors of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Bauchi State was formed in 1976-02-03 when North-Eastern State was divided into Bauchi, Borno, and Gongola states. See also *States of Nigeria *List of state governors o ...

Family

Tuggar was born into a political family in

Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the e ...

(Gamawa), his father was the Organizing Secretary of the ruling

Northern People's Congress Northern People's Congress (NPC) is a political party in Nigeria. Formed in June 1949, the party held considerable influence in the Northern Region from the 1950s until the military coup of 1966. It was formerly a cultural organization known as J ...

in the period before and after

Nigerian Independence Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

in 1960, who later became a Senator in the

Second Nigerian Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

Education

Tuggar received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

from the

United States International University United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three inter ...

. He also attended the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

, and has

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

Early career

After graduating, Tuggar spent several years in the private sector. He was the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of Nordic Oil and Gas Services, an energy consulting firm. Tuggar was also a contributor on political and economic opinions in Nigerian newspapers and magazines.

Political career

House of Representatives

Tuggar represented Gamawa from Bauchi State in the

from 2007 to 2011. He served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Procurement, regulating government spending in the oil and gas industry, education, health and water resources, the committee worked on separating the president's cabinet from affairs of awarding contracts. He also oversaw the creation of the National Council on

Public Procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the procurement of goods, services and works on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. Amounting to 12 percent of global GDP in 2018, government procurement accounts for a sub ...

, and was the member of the house committee that worked on Local content bill with a focus in oil and gas. He was also as a member of the house committees on foreign affairs and was the deputy chairman of the house on Public Petitions. He sponsored a bill on inhumane transport of livestock on the floor of the house.

Governorship elections

In 2011, Tuggar ran for office of the

as the candidate of the

Congress for Progressive Change The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was a political party founded in Nigeria in 2009 in preparation for the April 2011 elections. It was the 63rd political party to be founded in the country. In February 2013, the party merged with the ...

, Tuggar came in second after the election was marred with fraud and violence. In 2013, he joined the ruling All Progressives Congress and contested the governorship primaries coming in third.

Ambassador to Germany

In August 2017, Tuggar was appointed the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...

. During his ambassadorship, Tuggar played a key role during the 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...

. He also facilitated the state visit of the German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

to Nigeria in August 2018. In March 2020, Tuggar attended a meeting held with Siemens in Germany over projects in the Nigerian power sector, the chief of staff to the president Abba Kyari who tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. Tuggar ordered the closure of the embassy in Berlin, and himself was tested negative. Kyari later died on 17 April 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuggar, Yusuf Living people Nigerian diplomats Ambassadors of Nigeria to Germany 1967 births