A former chief of staff, Mohammed Abdullahi, to Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has declared his intention to run for the governorship of the state in the 2023 general elections.
Mr Abdullahi, who currently serves as the state’s commissioner for budget and planning, has been one of the governor’s top lieutenants since 2015.
The 42-year-old Abdullahi was the state’s commissioner for budget and planning between 2015 and 2019 before being appointed as chief of staff to the governor, a position he held from 2019 to 2021.
However, when the Governor reshuffled his cabinet in 2021, Mr El-Rufai returned Mr Abdullahi to the ministry of budget and planning where he is at the moment.
Speaking with reporters in Kaduna on Tuesday, Mr Abdullahi said: “ I remain deeply proud and honoured with the rare opportunity afforded me by the Governor to learn under his leadership and to contribute to the process that has delivered the indelible progress that Kaduna State has witnessed in the last seven years.
“With a front seat in government, first as Commissioner, later as Chief of Staff, and again as Commissioner; I have had the privilege to contribute to debate and to understudy the thinking behind every policy intervention and decision of the APC government. I am confident of my ability to sustain all that has been achieved so far and continue to Move Kaduna Forward.
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“The desire to guarantee continuity in governance, especially in the area of evolving development in the State, has largely fueled my interest in the 2023 gubernatorial contest. As a development practitioner, I’m conscious of the danger of retrogression and the need to ensure that the gains we’ve made as a State are not reversed under whatever circumstances.
“I am therefore putting myself forward based on the need to ensure the continuity of excellent performance we’ve witnessed in the last 7 years.
Mr Abdullahi, popularly known as Dattijo, is expected to resign from the cabinet following his declaration to run for governor as demanded by the new Electoral Act recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari
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