Umaru Tanko Al-Makura
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Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (born November 1952) is a Nigerian businessman and politician and also a former governor and senator in
Nasarawa State Nasarawa is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba State, Taraba and Plateau State, Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states ...
in the
All Progressive Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, th ...
(APC). He was elected as a senator in 2019.


Background

Al-makura was born around 1952 in Lafia, Nasarawa State as a member of the Gwandara ethnic Group. He attended Dunama Primary School, Lafia (1959–1966), Keffi Teacher's College (1967–1971) and then Government Teachers College of Education, Uyo (1972–75). For a short period in 1975 he was an Assistant Producer at the Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria. He then went to
Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...
,
Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...
(1975–1978), graduating with a Bachelor of Education Degree. For his National Youth Service he was a teacher at the Government College, Makurdi. In 1978 he formed Almakura Nigeria Limited, importing and servicing agricultural and industrial machinery. Later he ventured into real estate and property development as owner and chairman of Ta'al Nigeria Limited, with properties in
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
,
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
, Kano and
Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. He owns THE WAVE, a 5 star Hotel presently under construction in Abuja and the Ta'al Conference Hotel, Lafia.


Political career

In 1980, Almakura became the youth leader of the
National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigeri ...
(NPN) in the old
Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...
. He was elected to the constitution Assembly of 1988–89, representing the Lafia–Obi Federal Constituency of what is now Nasarawa State. He was state secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) party in Plateau State from 1990 to 1992. Al-makura was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State in 1998. Al-Makura has an estimate net worth of $290 million and he defected from the PDP after losing the primary elections for the Nasarawa Governor competition. Al-Makura was elected Governor of
Nasarawa State Nasarawa is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba State, Taraba and Plateau State, Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
on 26 April 2011, running on the
Congress for Progressive Change The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was a political party founded in Nigeria in 2009. In February 2013, the party merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alli ...
(CPC) ticket. He defeated the incumbent governor, Aliyu Akwe-Doma of the PDP.


Impeachment struggle

On 14 July 2014 the Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly gave a notice of impeachment to the Clerk of the House to serve on Tanko Al-Makura. The Clerk was told to serve the notice on Al-Makura either directly or through the media. The document contained allegations of gross misconduct and was signed by twenty of the twenty four Assembly members. The impeachment was supported by the twenty Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members but opposed by the four All Progressive Congress (APC) members. On 17 July the House of Assembly decided that the impeachment notice would be served via the media, since the governor had been evading personal service. On 20 July 2014 it was reported that the Nasarawa traditional rulers had called on both sides to refrain from holding rallies for or against the impeachment so as to avoid violence. On 23 July, four members of the Assembly tried to seize the speaker's mace to delay a motion to ask the Chief Judge of the state to set up a seven-person panel to review the allegations of gross misconduct. The members of the House met twenty minutes later and passed the motion by twenty votes against four.


Corruption allegations and detainment by the EFCC

On July 28, 2021, the ''
Premium Times ''Premium Times'' is a Nigerian online newspaper based in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The newspaper was launched in 2011. The online medium is notable for investigative journalism and reports, among other fields. Recognition * Nominated ...
'' reported that the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement and anti-graft agency that investigates financial crimes and unknown transactions such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was establ ...
had arrested Al-Makura and his wife, Mairo over "alleged breach of trust and misappropriation of funds" during Al-Makura's tenure as Governor of Nasarawa State. Later that day, Premium Times reported that the arrest may have been the result of an investigation into suspicious transactions involving the bank accounts of the couple and their businesses. Reportedly, large transfers of state government money were sent to a company owned by Al-Makura and his wife raising concerns over a conflict of interest along with suspicious transfers from state government contractors to 55 different accounts controlled by Al-Makura and his wife leading to allegations of bribery and money laundering. The next day, Al-Makura released a statement through his chief press secretary Danjuma Joseph which claimed that the Al-Makuras were not arrested, instead that they were invited "to give his maru Tanko'sown side of the story to some petitions written against him." The statement also quoted Al-Makura saying, "the rumours f the arrestsurprised me and far as I am concerned, it is baseless."


See also

*Nasarawa State Judiciary * List of governors of Nasarawa State


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makura, Umaru Tanko 1952 births Living people Governors of Nasarawa State All Progressives Congress politicians Ahmadu Bello University alumni People from Lafia Senators of the 9th National Assembly (Nigeria)