Gawuna Nasiru Yusuf is a Nigerian politician who contested the 2023 Gubernatorial Elections as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Kano. They received 891K votes (45.03%).

Biography

Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna (born 6 August 1967) is a Nigerian health personnel, businessman and politician. In May 2022, he became the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 Kano State gubernatorial election. He served as deputy governor of Kano State under Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from 2018 to 2023.

Nasiru Yusuf was born on 6 August 1967, to the family of Alhaji Yusuf and Hajiya Fatima Shiekh Hassan Gawuna, in Kano city. He is a descendant of Garba Gawuna and Sheikh Hassan Gawuna families on the paternal and maternal lineages respectively.

Nasir Yusuf Gawuna enrolled at Gawuna Primary School in the year 1973. He completed Gawuna Primary School in 1979, and the following year, he enrolled at Government Secondary School Gwaram (now in Jigawa State) where he did his junior secondary school.

After completing his high school education at Science Secondary School Dawakin Kudu in 1984, he gained admission into Ahmadu Bello University's School of Basic Studies in Zaria for a year preliminary study. He finished his preliminary in 1985.

He then proceeded to the Usman Danfodiyo University, where he graduated in 1990 with a degree in biochemistry.

Nasir Yusuf Gawuna was appointed by Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje after the resignation of the former Deputy Governor Professor Hafiz Abubakar on 5 August 2018. Governor Ganduje also retained Gawuna as his running mate in the 2019 Nigerian general election.

Before his appointment, Gawuna was the Commissioner for Kano State Ministry of Agriculture, first appointed in 2014 by former Governor Engineer Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Gawuna is the Chairman of Kano State Taskforce Committee on COVID-19. He was Chairman of Nassarawa Local Government Area for 8 years under the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) while Ibrahim Shekarau was the Governor of Kano State.

Gawuna resigned as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources on 18 April 2022 to be eligible for the 2023 Kano State gubernatorial election. The incumbent Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje supported Gawuna, announcing his decision at a stakeholders meeting on 7 May 2022.

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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