Atiku Bagudu has just been appointed Minister of Economic Planning and Budget by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He’s been in politics for decades and has occupied different political positions.
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu was born on December 26, 1961 in Gwandu, Kebbi State. He studied Economics at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. He proceeded to the University of Jos to obtain a Master of Science in Economics. He’s also a graduate of International Affairs from Columbia University, New York, USA.
Before Bagudu fully joined politics, he was an associate of the former Head Of State, Sani Abacha. He was also a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting to the All Progressive Congress in 2014. While in PDP, he was elected to represent Kebbi Central Senatorial District. In 2015, he contested the governorship elections under APC and won.
He spent two terms as the Governor of Kebbi State, from 2015 to 2023. As governor, Bagudu improved the state’s revenue by investing in solid minerals in collaboration with the Federal Government. He also changed the paradigm of rice production in Kebbi and Nigeria as a whole in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It was launched by the former President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari. After the initiation of this programme, the scale of rice production in Kebbi state moved from a million tons per annum to over two million. Those who were not engaged in farming eventually joined.
Bagudu introduced tax reduction, free land allocation to enable a conducive business environment. Kebbi state was declared by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as the most prosperous in the North West. In 2022, he was appointed by Bola Ahmed Tinubu to chair the Agricultural Committee of his Presidential Campaign Council. After Tinubu became the President-elect, he nominated him to the Presidential Transition Council.
However, a twist in the years of his experience and achievement happened when the global International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) conducted an investigation that produced the Pandora Papers project. In the Pandora papers, Bagudu’s name, alongside others like Peter Obi, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, serving and former lawmakers, a pastor and many other high-profile citizens, were mentioned in money laundering cases, flouting “extant laws and legislations” as they hide their assets in the notorious secrecy jurisdictions.
According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Bagudu had created anonymous companies in the British Virgin Islands. According to publicly accessible records, Bagudu was, in 2003, extradited from Houston, Texas, to New Jersey, America, because of the company he set up through a shell company named, ‘Doraville Properties to launder funds stolen from Nigeria. He later settled it, after agreeing to return 160 million dollars against facing trial.
As a newly appointed Minister of Budget and National Planning, a parastatal that is key to making or marring the reputation, integrity and acceptability of the Bola Tinubu administration, all eyes are focused on Bagudu to advise the government of the federation on how to run an already expensive and deficit-ridden democratic government efficiently. Nigerians expect to see a more economically efficient, prudent government if the renewed hope mandate that President Bola Tinubu promised Nigerians must be fulfilled.
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