Musa Aliyu Aliyu

Aliyu Modibbo Umar (born 15 November 1958) is a Nigerian technocrat who currently serves as the Special Adviser on General Duties to the Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima. He previously held positions as Minister of State for Power and Steel, Minister of Commerce, and Minister for the FCT (Federal Capital Territory, Abuja).

Aliyu Modibbo Umar was born in Gombe State, Nigeria, of Kumo origin, on 15 November 1958. He earned a BA in Journalism from California State University, Long Beach; an MA in African Studies; and a PhD in Comparative Education, both from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

His professional journey began in 1979 as a reporter for the Nigerian Television Authority. Between 1986 and 1992, he worked in the United States before returning to Nigeria in 1993 to become a lecturer at the University of Abuja. He later transitioned into civilian administration, working in the office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

During the Obasanjo presidency, Aliyu Modibbo Umar served as Minister of State for Power and Steel from January to May 2003. In March 2003, he highlighted efforts to spend N2.2 billion on rural electrification projects in Gombe State, attributing power outages to sabotage. He also introduced decisions to ban imports of certain goods like toothpicks, bottled water, biscuits, spaghetti, and noodles during a FEC meeting. In May 2003, he became Chairman of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd. (PAN), resolving industrial crises and relaunching the company’s operations within 90 days. Under his leadership, PAN became the first Nigerian manufacturer to export Peugeot cars to other African countries. He also championed the use of Peugeot 307 cars in Abuja’s taxi scheme and Rivers State’s taxi fleet, as well as the introduction of a Consumer Car Finance Scheme benefiting 15,000 military, paramilitary, and police personnel.

Party Positions

Policy positions from the Labour Party (LP) party manifesto.

Agriculture

Will optimize agricultural value chains across all 36 states with targeted investments, addressing impediments like banditry, kidnapping, and desertification to enhance food security and advance agro-based industrialization.

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Governance & Reform

Will restructure the Nigerian federation through legal and institutional reforms to strengthen federalism by moving agreed items from the exclusive list of the Federal government to the concurrent list, ensuring effective public action for growth and sustainable livelihood.

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Security & Defense

Will implement key recommendations from previous police and security sector reform reports, including a three-level policing structure (local, state, federal) with detailed guidelines to curb abuses.

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Reliefs and scholarships

Will resolve the national minimum wage problem by replacing the extant salary structure with an hourly productivity-based national minimum wage, ensuring binding application across all sectors.

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Economy & Trade

Will reform the transport system, including logistics, ports, customs, and other agencies, to create an integrated transport system promoting inter-connectivity among ports, roads, rail, and inland waterways to reduce trade costs and enhance competitiveness.

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Enterprise grant support

Will devise programs to reskill youths, create mandatory national certification for blue-collar artisans, strengthen STEM tertiary schools, and establish a venture capital-like fund for young entrepreneurs.

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Environment & Climate

Will establish a Green Army to tap into $3 trillion in international climate finance for green growth, employment, and transition to a green economy.

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Anti-corruption

Will establish the Office of Special Counsel to investigate and prosecute executive abuses of power and corruption, with constitutional amendments to exempt its prosecutions from the Nolle Prosequi power of the Attorney General.

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Energy

Launch a solar power revolution in Northern Nigeria, ensuring uninterrupted power supply in cities and industrial parks by the end of 2024 through re-engagement of 14 Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and resolving financial impediments to reach $2.5 billion in PPAs for 1,125 MW of solar capacity.

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Technology & Digital

Support private sector-led fiber-optic backbone projects connecting tertiary institutions and state capitals to enable free broadband access for digital transformation.

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Infrastructure

Creation of national multi-utility transport tunnels (MUT) to integrate masterplans for gas, road, railway, urban mass transit, telecommunications, water, sewage, and electricity for cost efficiency and streamlined infrastructure development.

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Education

Will implement a Marshall Plan-style education reform program with compulsory technical and vocational skills, entrepreneurship, and digital training from primary to secondary level, with strategic partnerships for incubators and seed funding.

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Healthcare

Expand health insurance coverage to 133 million poorest Nigerians (including pregnant women, children, the elderly, and disabled) through strengthened NHIS with private sector involvement, ensuring accessibility and affordability.

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Foreign Policy

Engage in Afro-centric diplomacy to protect Nigerian citizens abroad and advance economic interests through trade, investment, and diplomatic leverage.

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