Umar Abubakar

Abubakar Umar Tutare (born 13 February 1965) is a Nigerian politician who served as the senator representing the Taraba Central senatorial district from 2011 to 2015. He was elected in the 2011 Nigerian Senate elections, running on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Tutare was a representative in the Taraba State House of Assembly for two terms. He was appointed commissioner for the Finance, Commerce and Works ministries of the state, and finally Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

He was a contender to be PDP candidate for the Taraba Central senate seat in the April 2007 elections, but lost out to Dahiru Bako, who went on to be elected. In June 2010, it was reported that Tutare was being questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged misappropriation of state government funds when he was commissioner of finance under Governor Jolly Nyame. Later that month, Tutare resigned from his position as SSG so he could compete in the senatorial election for Taraba Central.

Tutare won the January 2011 PDP primaries to be the party's candidate in the April 2011 elections and was accepted as candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). However, the PDP leadership decided to substitute the incumbent senator, Dahiru Bako, as their candidate. When the PDP called for a re-run of the primary, Tutare filed a suit against the party. The re-run was boycotted by many of the delegates. Bako was declared the winner. On 12 March 2011, Governor Danbaba Suntai visited Mutum Biyu, the headquarters of Gassol local government area, and tried to give Bako his flag to formally start his campaign, leading to clashes between supporters of the two factions in which hundreds of people were injured.

The mood leading up to the elections was tense, with allegations that state security forces were removing the posters of opposition candidates and throwing supporters of the opposition into jail. On 1 April 2011, a Federal High Court in Yola declared Tutare the lawful candidate. The INEC declared Tutare the winner of the April elections with 126,165 votes, ahead of Abubakar Ahmed Rufi of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) with 25,900 votes and Mustapha JH. Gambo of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) with 11,816 votes. Following his election, in May 2011, Tutare declared that the state was rich in agricultural, mineral, and tourist resources. He promised to deliver good roads, clean water, and quality education and healthcare. He noted that none of the towns or villages in his senatorial district was connected to the national electricity grid.

In June 2011, Tutare was implicated in an EFCC case against former Governor Jolly Nyame, where he allegedly assisted in a N1.3 billion fraud.

Party Positions

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

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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Security & Defense

Committed to activating regional cooperation with neighboring countries (Niger, Chad, Cameroon) for border security and addressing cross-border crimes under the ECOWAS Protocol on Movement of Persons.

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Governance & Reform

Will push for a policy on Common Regimentation Emolument Structure Table (CREST) to harmonize wages across federal public servants, military, and judiciary/academia, ensuring equal pay for comparable roles.

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Reliefs and scholarships

Will criminalize non-payment of salaries/wages/pensions to address poverty, inequality, and enhance social solidarity through enforcement of collective bargaining agreements.

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Agriculture

Will optimize agricultural value chains across all states via targeted investments to boost food security and advance agro-based industrialization, addressing banditry, kidnapping, desertification, and policy barriers.

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Economy & Trade

Will implement radical economic reforms to drastically cut debt-servicing and debt-to-revenue ratios through aggressive fiscal policy adjustments, addressing high poverty (95M), unemployment (~32%), and low tax contribution (~6% of GDP).

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Enterprise grant support

Will implement a mandatory national certification for blue-collar artisans and re-skilling programs to align youth skills with economic needs, including STEM training and a venture capital-like fund for entrepreneurs.

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Anti-corruption

Will establish an Office of Special Counsel to investigate executive abuses, corruption, and bureaucratic concealments, exempting its prosecutions from Nolle Prosequi by the Attorney General.

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Technology & Digital

Drive Nigeria’s transition into the 4th Industrial Revolution through digital economy initiatives, including scientific and technological innovation.

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Energy

Fast-track gas flaring commercialisation (NGFCP) to increase gas utilization and reduce wastage by enforcing Domestic Gas Supply Obligations of oil/gas companies, implementing gas-to-power infrastructure with fiscal incentives, and lowering prices for embedded power generation.

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Infrastructure

Will develop and complete a $2.3 billion Siemens deal to upgrade Nigeria’s power transmission grid, aiming for stable capacities of 7,000 MW by 2023, 11,000 MW by 2024, and 25,000 MW by 2025 through public-private partnerships.

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Education

Overhauls funding access for UBEC and TETFund by removing bottlenecks, increasing transparency, and implementing a public-private partnership model where private corporations fund and manage schools (tax-in-kind).

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Healthcare

Develop a comprehensive occupational mapping of Nigeria’s healthcare system to generate data on human capacity, reverse brain drain, and stop medical tourism by leveraging Diaspora healthcare expertise.

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Foreign Policy

Will actively engage in sub-regional and regional forums to enhance Nigeria’s leadership role in African affairs through constructive dialogue on challenges.

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