In this post, Platinumtimes.ng archives the life story, family and career of Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu is the immediate past governor of Kebbi state, he is from a wealthy family.
He currently serves as the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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Name: Abubakar Atiku Bagudu
Date of birth: 26th December, 1961
State of Origin: Kebbi state
Spouses: Zainab Bugudu, Aisha Bugudu
Education: Usman Dan Fodio, university, Sokoto.
Political party: All Progressive Congress (APC)
Religion: Islam
Biography
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu was born on 26th December, 1961 into a wealthy family in Kebbi state,Nigeria.
Being the child of the director of Primary Education in Kebbi state, Atiku Bugudu had his early education in Kebbi state before gaining admission in to Usman Dan Fodio university, Sokoto,where he had a degree in Economics. He then proceeded to University of Jos, Plateau State and had a Masters in Economics.To acquire more knowledge, he enrolled in Columbia University and obtained his M.A in International Affairs.
Family
Being a Muslim, he is married to two wives; Dr Zainab Atiku Bagudu and Aisha Atiku Bagudu. He is blessed with children.
Career
Atiku Bugudu started his career as a politician when he was elected as a senator to represent Kebbi Central Constituency in December 2008.
He ran successfully for re-election in the April 2011 national elections under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
In 2014, he defected to the All Progressive Congress and thereafter, became the flagbearer of the All Progressive Congress(APC) after winning the Party’s Gubernatorial primaries.
In Nigeria’s 2015 general elections, he contested for the Governorship seat in Kebbi State and won under the platform of the APC.
He won re-election in 2019 and continued till 2023 when he contested and won the ticket for the central senatorial seat of the All Progressive Congress ( APC).
Controversies
Bagudu is known to be involved in several corruption controversies.
He was known to be entangled with the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha, who was accused of sneaking more than $2.2 billion of public funds during his five-year tenure as Nigerian president in the 1990s.
In 2003, he was arrested and extradited from Houston, Texas at the request of Jersey, where Bagudu had set up a shell company called Doraville Properties to launder funds stolen from Nigeria.
Bagudu eventually reached a settlement, agreeing to return $160 million of stolen money in exchange for deportation to Nigeria to face trial.
Despite the proofs from legal authorities in the U.S., Jersey, and Switzerland, Bagudu was never questioned after returning to Nigeria. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the repatriation of $480 million stolen by Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators which were identified as Mohammed Sani Abacha and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
In 2021, he was identified as of the person’s hiding illegal funds by Pandora Papers but was immuned from prosecution while he was the governor of Kebbi State.
Awards
In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of Commander Of The Order Of The Niger (CON) was conferred on him by President Mohammadu Buhari.
In August 2023, he was nominated to serve as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.