Buhari Abdulfatai

Abdulfatai Omotayo Buhari is a Nigerian politician born in 1965 in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria, who has served as senator representing Oyo North Senatorial district since 2015.

He pursued Business Administration at the University of Ilorin, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1985.

He furthered his education to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU Zaria), where he graduated with a master's in business administration in 1993.

In 2009, he obtained a PhD in public policy from the University of Abuja.

He was first elected during the 2015 senatorial elections and re-elected in 2019, where he ran for re-election and won with over 18,338 votes, triumphing over his PDP counterpart with a total of 107,703 votes. He also won in 2023.

In 2003, he served as a member of the House of Representatives representing Ogbomosho North, Ogbomosho South, and Ori Ire Federal Constituencies.

In November 2015, he was appointed vice chairman of the Senate committee on industry. Subsequently, he was appointed chairman of the Senate committee on ICT & Cyber Crime.

He has served as a commissioner for local government and chieftaincy matters of Oyo State.

He was also the chairman of the Nigeria Senate committee on land and marine transport in the 9th Senate.

He was named the chairman, Senate committee on aviation of the 10th Senate on 8 August 2023.

Here are some of his posts: Chairman at Land Transport Committee from June 2019 to June 2023, Vice chairman at ICT and Cybercrime Committee from June 2019 to June 2019, Chairman at ICT & Cyber Crime Committee from June 2015 to June 2019, Vice-chairman at Industry Committee from June 2015 to June 2019, Senator at Senate from May 2015 to May 2019. Fatai Buhari has been described as a Tinubu-like senator.

Party Positions

Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.

Agriculture

Launches the Irrigate Nigeria Project as a public-private partnership to develop small-scale irrigation and water catchment systems using modern technology to boost agricultural productivity.

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Security & Defense

Will deploy modern aerial surveillance and advanced technology to monitor and deter intrusions into oil pipelines, power stations, and other critical national infrastructure in real time.

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Environment & Climate

Accelerates the environmental cleanup and re-establishment of fisheries and profitable aquacultural activities in the Niger-Delta region to counter violent extremism and poverty-driven disaffection.

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Economy & Trade

Will implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and additional favorable policies to attract investment in deep-water assets within 6 months, including encouraging signature bonus negotiations and royalty reliefs.

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Infrastructure

Creates regional industrial hubs in specific zones (North West, North East, South East, South South, South West, North Central) to focus on labor-intensive manufacturing, with tailored investments (e.g., textiles, dry ports, glass, pottery, solid minerals, regulated mining).

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Enterprise grant support

Work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to simplify loan processes for commercial banks, mandate federally owned banks to provide low-cost loans to youth-led enterprises, and expand business incubation centers to support youth innovation.

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Energy

Will mandate gas metering equipment on all facilities where gas flaring occurs within 6 months and establish a special enforcement unit to monitor compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on gas flaring reduction, with non-compliance leading to financial penalties for affected communities.

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Governance & Reform

Reserve at least 3 cabinet positions for individuals under 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 40, and mandate that at least 20% of political appointments to Ministries/Dangomas (MDAs) be reserved for individuals under 40.

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Education

Raises the priority of addressing out-of-school children, establishes a task force to review and strengthen programs like school feeding, and aims to reduce disaffected youth recruitment by violent groups.

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Healthcare

Will establish a network of upgraded, equipped, and staffed general hospitals in every Local Government Area, tertiary facilities in each State, and world-class specialist hospitals in each geo-political zone to improve healthcare accessibility and quality.

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Technology & Digital

Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.

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Reliefs and scholarships

Commits to a conditional income support program requiring recipients to meet human capital goals (school attendance, healthcare, nutrition) in exchange for payments.

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