Full List Of Democratically Elected Governors Who Have Ruled Adamawa State

Adamawa State has seen a mix of military and civilian administrations since its creation in 1991, with democratic rule interrupted during the military era before the start of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

Naija News reports that the state was created on August 27, 1991, following the division of the former Gongola State into Adamawa and Taraba states. Since then, several military administrators, acting governors and democratically elected politicians have occupied the Government House in Yola.

However, only a handful of politicians have won elections to govern the state under democratic rule.

They include Abubakar Saleh Michika, Boni Haruna, Murtala Nyako, Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla Bindow and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.

Although Bala James Ngilari also served as a substantive governor during the democratic era, he did not assume office after winning a governorship election. He became governor following a court ruling that recognised him, as deputy governor, as the rightful successor to Murtala Nyako.

Below is a look at the politicians who have governed Adamawa State through democratic mandates.

1. Abubakar Saleh Michika — January 1992 To November 1993

Abubakar Saleh Michika was the first democratically elected civilian governor of Adamawa State.

Michika contested the governorship election on the National Republican Convention (NRC) platform and was among the civilian governors elected during Nigeria’s transition programme under former military President Ibrahim Babangida.

Governorship elections were held across the country on December 14, 1991, before the elected governors were inaugurated on January 2, 1992. Michika and his deputy, Lynn Nathan, were elected to lead the newly created Adamawa State.

His administration, however, was short-lived.

Michika remained in office until November 17, 1993, when the military returned to power following the political crisis that ended the Third Republic.

He consequently served for less than two years before military administrators once again took charge of the state.

Michika died on March 10, 2018.

2. Boni Haruna — May 1999 To May 2007

With Nigeria’s return to democratic government in 1999, Boni Haruna emerged as governor of Adamawa State on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform.

His emergence was unusual because former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had initially won the Adamawa governorship election with Haruna as his running mate.

Atiku was subsequently selected as the running mate to PDP presidential candidate Olusegun Obasanjo, paving the way for Haruna to assume the governorship under the joint electoral mandate.

Haruna took office on May 29, 1999.

He later contested for the governorship in his own right and secured re-election in 2003. An election tribunal initially nullified his 2003 victory, but the Court of Appeal overturned the decision.

Haruna eventually completed two consecutive terms and left office on May 29, 2007.

He remains one of the longest-serving governors in Adamawa’s democratic history, having served eight years.

3. Murtala Nyako — May 2007 To July 2014

Retired naval officer Murtala Nyako succeeded Boni Haruna as governor in 2007.

Nyako contested the governorship election on the Peoples Democratic Party platform and was sworn in on May 29, 2007.

His first election was later annulled, forcing a fresh election in 2008. Nyako again emerged victorious and returned to office. Records show that his initial 2007 election was nullified before he won the subsequent poll.

The prolonged litigation surrounding his tenure also affected Adamawa’s election timetable.

Following a Supreme Court decision concerning the tenure of some governors, another governorship election was held in Adamawa on February 4, 2012. Nyako, again contesting on the PDP platform, emerged victorious. INEC records identify him as the winner of that election.

Nyako later defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His tenure ended abruptly on July 15, 2014, when the Adamawa State House of Assembly impeached him over allegations of gross misconduct.

In 2016, however, the Court of Appeal declared the impeachment unconstitutional, although the court did not return him to office because his tenure had effectively elapsed.

Nyako’s removal triggered a complicated period of political succession in Adamawa.

Then Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, initially became acting governor following Nyako’s impeachment.

However, Nyako’s deputy, Bala James Ngilari, challenged the circumstances surrounding his purported resignation.

A court subsequently ruled that Ngilari’s resignation had not been properly carried out and held that he was constitutionally entitled to succeed the impeached governor. He consequently became substantive governor and served from October 2014 until May 29, 2015.

Ngilari is therefore part of Adamawa’s list of civilian governors, although he was not directly elected to the governorship position.

4. Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla Bindow — May 2015 To May 2019

Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla, popularly known as Bindow Jibrilla, became governor after the 2015 general election.

Bindow contested on the All Progressives Congress platform and defeated his major opponents to emerge as governor.

Before becoming governor, he represented Adamawa North Senatorial District in the National Assembly from 2011 to 2015.

He was sworn into office on May 29, 2015, succeeding Bala Ngilari.

Bindow sought a second term in 2019 but was defeated by the PDP candidate, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.

According to official INEC results, Fintiri received 376,552 votes, while Bindow polled 336,386 votes. Abdul-Azeez Nyako of the African Democratic Congress finished third with 113,237 votes.

Bindow subsequently left office on May 29, 2019, after serving one four-year term.

5. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri — May 2019 To Date

Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri is the incumbent governor of Adamawa State.

Before becoming an elected governor, Fintiri had already briefly occupied the Government House as acting governor following political and legal developments surrounding Nyako’s tenure.

He eventually contested the 2019 governorship election on the Peoples Democratic Party platform.

The election required a supplementary poll before Fintiri was declared winner with 376,552 votes, defeating incumbent Governor Bindow Jibrilla, who received 336,386 votes.

Fintiri was sworn into office on May 29, 2019.

He sought re-election in 2023 in a closely fought contest against APC candidate Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, popularly known as Binani.

Following the main election and supplementary poll, INEC declared Fintiri winner with 430,861 votes, while Binani received 398,788 votes.

The legal challenges that followed the election eventually reached the Supreme Court, which upheld Fintiri’s victory.