PROFILE: Bala Mohammed, Governor of Bauchi [2019 – ]

Bala Mohammed (known in full as Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed)  was born on October 5, 1958, at Duguri Town in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

He attended Duguri Primary School, Bauchi, from 1965 to 1971 where he secured his First School Leaving Certificate. After that, he was at Government Secondary School, Bauchi, from 1972 to 1976 where he passed his WASCE. He then proceeded to the North-East College of Art and Science between 1977 and 1979 for his Advanced Level Certificate. Thereafter, he enrolled at the University of Maiduguri in 1979 and graduated in 1982 with BA Degree in English Language.

Bala Mohammed attended the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) in 1988 for a general management course. In 1997, he attended a capacity building training in Lagos and was given a certificate of the Institute of Purchase & Supplies.He began his career as a journalist and rose to the position of News Editor of the Mirage Newspaper, Jos, between 1982 and 1983. He also had a stint as a News Reporter with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN). From there he moved over to the Democrat Newspaper where he worked as the newspaper’s State Editor in charge of Benue from 1983 to 1984.

In 1984, he left journalism for the civil service when he got employed as an Administrative Officer under the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, Abuja. In 1994, he was promoted and redeployed as Principal Administrative Officer in the Cabinet Secretariat of the Presidency.

He was Chief Supplies Officer, Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals from 1995 to 1997. He rose to the position of Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel in 1997. He held the position until 1999 when he was promoted Deputy Director/SA to the Hon Minister, Federal Ministry of Transport. He successfully discharged his functions in that capacity from 1999 to 2003.

Bala Mohammed was promoted Director of Administration, Nigerian Railway Corporations in 2003. Later in September that year, he became Special Assistant to the Minister of Aviation. In January of the following year, he became Director of Administration and Supplies, Nigerian Meteorological Agency.

Bala Mohammed was elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on April 21, 2007, to represent Bauchi South Senatorial District. He occupied that position until his appointment as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in April 2010.

He was declared Governor of Bauchi State on March 26, 2019.  In that fiercely fought election, Bala Mohammed, as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  scored 515,113 votes to defeat the then-incumbent governor, Muhammed Abubakar, who polled 500, 625 votes.