“Pride of the Sahel”
- Capital
- Damaturu
- Created
- 27 August 1991
- Population
- 3,649,600 2022 estimate
- LGAs
- 17
His Excellency
Mai Mala Buni
Executive Governor of Yobe State
All Progressives Congress North-East
- In office since
- 29 May 2019
- Term
- 2nd term
- Term ends
- May 2027
- Deputy
- Idi Barde Gubana
Biography
Mai Mala Buni (born 19 November 1967) is a Nigerian businessman and politician who has served as Governor of Yobe State since 29 May 2019. Born in Buni Yadi, Gujba LGA, he built businesses in trade, transport, farming and construction before and alongside his political career.
A founding figure of the APC in Yobe, he served two terms as the party's National Secretary from 2014. He won the 2019 governorship election with 444,013 votes and was re-elected in 2023. From June 2020 to March 2022 he chaired the APC's Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, which ran the party nationally.
His administration has focused on post-insurgency reconstruction, resettlement of displaced persons, mass housing, primary healthcare and education infrastructure, and the Damaturu international cargo airport. He received the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2022. His second and final term ends in May 2027.
Career before office
Buni entered politics in 1992 as a councillor for Buni ward in Gujba LGA and became speaker of the council. He later served as Yobe chairman of the Action Congress (2007–2010), Special Adviser on Political Affairs to Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, and pioneer Yobe State chairman of the APC. From 2014 he was the APC's first elected National Secretary, and he also chaired the Nigerian Shippers' Council board.
Key initiatives in office
- Construction of about 3,600 housing units across the state's 17 LGAs
- Completion and commissioning of the Damaturu international cargo airport
- Model primary schools and payment of examination fees for public school students
- Primary healthcare centres programme across wards
- Reconstruction of houses and livelihood support for returning IDPs
- Sesame processing hub in Machina
Education
- Government Secondary School, Goniri (WAEC, 1985)
- BSc International Relations, ESPAM Formation University, Benin Republic (2014)
- Master's degree in International Relations, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom
Yobe State at a glance
North-East
Other governors in the zone
Gombe State
Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya
Adamawa State
Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri
Bauchi State
Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed
Borno State