Nigeria - Head of Government

HE Mr Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was sworn in as President of Nigeria on 29 May 2007 following his victory in the April presidential election.

Mr Yar’Adua of the People’s Democratic Party was formerly the Governor of Katsina State from 1999 to 2007. He was a member of the 1989 Constitution Drafting Committee, which prepared the groundwork for the return to civil democratic governance. In 1990, Mr Yar’Adua took on the role of Secretary of both the now defunct People’s Front and the Social Democratic Party in Katsina State.

Before his entry into politics, Mr Yar’Adua was a businessman as well as a lecturer at the Katsina Polytechnic.

Mr Yar’Adua has a Master’s degree in Chemistry from the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria and a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the same institution.

Mr Yar’Adua was born on 16 August 1951 in Katsina, Nigeria.