Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa (born 4 November 1954) is a Nigerian politician who was the executive

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sokoto State Sokoto State (Hausa: Jihar Sokoto Fula: Leydi Sokoto 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country on the national border with the Republic of the N ...

in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.

Early career

He was a local government councillor in charge of Education. In 1979, he ran unsuccessfully for election to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP). He was a member of the National Constitutional Conference of 1994–1995, during the military rule of

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

. He was a founding member of the

United Nigeria Congress Party The United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) was a Nigerian political party. It was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, in ...

(UNCP – 1997) and the All People's Party (APP – 1998).

Governor of Sokoto State

In 1999 he was elected governor of Sokoto State on the platform of the

All Nigeria Peoples Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party ( abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...

(ANPP), and was re-elected for the ANPP in 2003. In March 2002, a Sharia court in Sokoto State freed a 35-year-old woman

Safiya Hussaini Safiya Hussaini Tungar Tudu (born 1967) is a Nigerian woman condemned to death for adultery in 2002. She gave birth to a child as a single woman in Sokoto, a Nigerian state under Sharia law. She was sentenced to be stoned, but was acquitted of a ...

, who had been sentenced to death by stoning after being found guilty of adultery. Nigeria's justice minister declared Sharia unconstitutional. Attahiru Bafarawa, however, said the Sharia states would not adhere to this declaration. Under the Bafarawa administration the state made significant improvements in the quality of roads. Schools were upgraded, and enrolment greatly improved due to assurances that all pupils would be taught morals and Islamic religion. The government built over 70 mosques. The water supply was improved through construction of boreholes.

Later career

Attahiru Bafarawa founded the Democratic People's Party (DPP) and became its presidential candidate at the 2007 presidential elections in Nigeria. As presidential candidate, while meeting with officials of the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

in Washington, D.C., he promised to scrap the

Niger Delta Development Commission The Niger Delta Development Commission is a federal government agency established by Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2000 with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In September 2008, Presi ...

(NDDC) if elected, describing the commission as "a conduit of corruption and waste."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bafarawa, Attahiru 1954 births Living people Nigerian Muslims Governors of Sokoto State Great Nigeria People's Party politicians United Nigeria Congress Party politicians All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Democratic People's Party (Nigeria) politicians Candidates for President of Nigeria Candidates in the Nigerian general election, 2007