Profile of His
Excellency, Alh. Abdullahi Adamu, (Sarkin Yakin Keffi),The First Executive
Governor of Nasarawa State
 Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu was born on
July 6, 1945 at Keffi. He started his education at the age of 7 at Abdu Zanga
Primary School, Keffi and completed at the Laminga Senior Primary School in
1959. His Post-Primary education started at the now Government Secondary School,
Makurdi from 1960-1962, from where he proceeded to Government Technical College,
Bukuru from 1963 - 1965.
Because of his strong desire for
Western education, and blessed with a sharp calculating mind, he proceeded to
the Kaduna Polytechnic where he read and obtained a National Diploma in Building
and Civil Engineering and graduated in 1968.
 He had a short employment after
the diploma course with the National Electric Power Authority as a maintenance
supervisor. Later he left for a Higher National Diploma at Kaduna Polytechnic
and completed in 1970. After the course, he took up appointment with the
Northern Nigeria Development Corporation (NNDC) Kaduna. Thereafter, he moved to
the private sector where he became a Consultant Area Manager with AEK, a firm of
consultants. In 1975, he was appointed the Executive Secretary of BEPCO (Benue-Plateau Construction Company) with headquarters in Jos.
His stint with Politics began in
1977 when he was elected into the Constituent Assembly, a body that drafted the
country’s Second Republic Constitution of 1979. Thereafter, he became a pioneer
member of the National Movement which later metamorphosed into the National
Party of Nigeria (NPN). He was the Secretary and later Chairman of the NPN in
Plateau State and also a member of the National Executive Committee of the
party.
In 1980, as a result of his
enormous contribution to the society, he was honoured with the prestigious title
of SARKIN YAKIN KEFFI by His Royal Highness, the Emir of Keffi, Alhaji Chindo
Yamusa II.
At the demise of the
2nd republic in 1983, he went back into the academics and enrolled in
the pioneer class of the part-time Law degree of the University of Jos. By 1992,
he added yet another feather to his academic career with a Law Degree from the
University of Jos. He was enrolled into the Nigeria Law School, Lagos and was
called to the bar in 1993 as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of
Nigeria.
He was appointed a member of the
National Constitutional Conference convened by the General Sani Abacha
Administration for the drafting of a constitution for a new democratic
government.
In March 1995, he was appointed a
Minister of State in the Ministry of Works and Housing of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria where he served up to November 17, 1997. During his tenure, he
actively participated in the UN-sponsored programme for urban, housing and
environmental development known as "habitat II". He led the Nigerian delegation
to the conference in Istanbul, Turkey, in June/July 1996.
At the lifting of the ban on
politics he became a member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and was
one of its leading gubernatorial contenders in Nasarawa State. His ambition was
however not realised as the party, alongside others, was dissolved at the death
of General Sani Abacha. At the onset of the current political dispensation, he
became a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party {PDP} and contested for
the position of the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State on its platform. He won
the elections conducted on 9th January, 1999. He was subsequently
sworn in as the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State on May 29, 1999.
Governor Abdullahi Adamu assumed
leadership of Nasarawa State with a rich background in public and private
service. He was Chairman, Board of Directors, Benue Cement Company, Gboko and
was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Television
Authority. He has also been honoured with the keys to the cities of Hamburg,
Germany; Harlem, New York, Soweto, South Africa and the plaque of Los Angeles,
USA.
Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu is a lover
of sports, especially football, baseball, cricket, hockey and
athletics.
A well-rounded man, Alhaji
Abdullahi Adamu, Lawyer, Engineer, Technocrat and a consummate politician is
married and has five children.
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