Aisha Abubakar is a Nigerian politician. Following the 2015 Nigerian general elections, she was appointed as the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

in 2015.

Early life and education

Hajiya Aisha Abubakar was born on July 20, 1966, in Dogondaji,

Sokoto State Sokoto ( Hausa: ; Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 miles), and the states of Zamf ...

. She is the daughter of a former finance minister, Abubakar Alhaji. She had her secondary education at

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

, Lagos between 1978 and 1984. She got her first degree from

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies between 1987 and 1990. She also earned a Master of Art degree in Development Studies from

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

between 1990 and 1991. She was also appointed to oversee the women affairs as Mrs Aisha Alhassan resigns and will still maintains her position as the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment.

Political career

Abubakar worked at

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...

between 1993 and 1999. She was later appointed Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment in November 2015. In October 2017, she supervised the hiring of an appraising agency by The Bank of Industry (BOI),

Nigerian Export-Import Bank The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) is an export credit agency in Nigeria, established in 1991. In its function, NEXIM focuses on the development and expansion of the non-oil sectors of the Nigerian economy, with a view to reducing the co ...

and some other government parastatals. During the signing of the MoU, she explained that the aim of the agency was to alleviate the funding of small and medium enterprises in the country. In the same year, she opined that due to renewed interest of government in the agricultural sector, Nigeria's cocoa production will increase by 50% in 2021. Abubakar has also advocated for the unity of Nigeria through diversification across different parts of the country, explaining that educational institutions should build individuals that will aid this diversification. To commemorate

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

2017, Abubakar empowered 200 women in her home state through resources and skills on new methods of utilizing agricultural produce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abubakar, Aisha 1966 births Living people Alumni of the University of Warwick Buhari administration personnel Politicians from Sokoto State Federal ministers of Nigeria Women government ministers of Nigeria Alumni of the University of Leeds