By Citizenship Online
The Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu Movement for Good Governance, a grassroots advocacy platform, has appealed to the immediate past Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, to step into the 2027 governorship contest in Yobe State, describing him as “a bridge between experience and innovation” and “the steady hand required to sustain and deepen Governor Mai Mala Buni’s remarkable legacy.”
In a statement released in Abuja, the Movement’s Coordinator, Mohammed Yusuf Ajiji, said Yobe has travelled an extraordinary journey since its creation 34 years ago, moving from the pioneering initiatives of the late Governor Mamman Ali, through the consolidation under Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, to the bold reforms and infrastructural renewal under Governor Mai Mala Buni.
“What the state needs now,” Ajiji said, “is not a break from this trajectory but a leader who will strengthen and expand it; a leader with the skills to turn achievements into enduring institutions — and that leader is Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu.”
According to the Movement, Engr. Aliyu has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to design, execute and sustain large-scale programmes in both federal and state capacities.
As Minister of Power, he is said to have accelerated electricity generation, upgraded transmission infrastructure, opened the door to renewable energy investment, and institutionalised data-driven planning.
“These are not isolated feats; they show a capacity to think long-term and deliver on complex assignments,” the statement said.
The group also said that Engr. Aliyu’s achievements extend beyond Abuja’s corridors of power. In Yobe, his fingerprints are visible in strategic federal interventions he personally facilitated — such as the upgrade of the Potiskum Power Substation, a project that has brought reliable electricity to thousands of households and small businesses, stimulating new economic activities.
“From the expansion of Fika Government School to the construction of vital bridges in Nguru and Tandari, the asphalting of key arteries like Abasha Road in Damaturu, provision of over 100 solar-powered boreholes and streetlights in communities such as Mofura, Bidiram, Amshi, Dagona, Daya, Alajere, Biriri and Abbari — Engr. Aliyu has quietly and consistently translated public office into public good,” the statement noted.
The Movement recalled his role as Deputy Governor — Nigeria’s longest-serving — where he concurrently held oversight of health, commerce and integrated rural development, establishing a reputation for humility, accessibility and problem-solving.
“He understands Yobe’s heartbeat because he has lived its challenges and delivered solutions at the grassroots,” it said.
“Governor Buni has laid a solid foundation of peace, infrastructure and human capital development. What Yobe needs now is a successor who will not only protect these gains but scale them up into a new phase of inclusive growth. Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu is that successor,” the group said.
Engr. Aliyu is a Civil and Water Resources Engineering graduate of the University of Maiduguri, and a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and a member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
The Movement described him as “an indispensable asset whose wealth of experience, tested leadership and unblemished record must be deployed in 2027 to guarantee Yobe’s continuity of progress.”
