- Safiu Kehinde
Former Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Aliyu Babangida, has emerged as the new secretary of the Tanimu Turaki-backed Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT).
This was announced in a communique issued by the PDP BoT on Wednesday following the conclusion of the board’s expanded emergency meeting held on account of the recent Appeal Court ruling over the party’s leadership crisis.
As contained in the communique presented by the BoT Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, Babangida’s appointment as the board’s new secretary was unanimously approved in pursuant to Section 32 of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
Babangida was elected executive governor of Niger State in April 2007, running under the platform of PDP).
His election was however disputed by late Jibrin Bala Guna Alhassan, a rival candidate for the PDP nomination, but the suit was rejected by the Federal High Court in Abuja in December 2007.
Soon after being sworn in as executive governor, Babangida established up a Debt Verification Committee to look into a flood of claims for unpaid bills for the contracts awarded by his predecessor Abdulkadri Kure.
The committee reported widespread misappropriations of the state’s resources.
Babangida was reelected on 26 April 2011 for another four years in office.