Ahmed Abdul Ningi

Abdul Ahmed Ningi (born April 20, 1960) was a Deputy Majority Leader of the Nigerian Senate. A member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), he served as a Senator representing Bauchi central senatorial district from 2011 to 2015. Bauchi Central senatorial zone includes the local government areas of Danbam, Darazo, Ganjuwa, Misau, Ningi, and Warji.

Abdul Ningi served as the House Majority Leader of the Nigerian House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007 and has been a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2011. As Deputy Majority Leader, Abdul Ningi was a principal officer of the Nigerian Senate. Abdul Ningi was born in Ningi town of Bauchi state. He grew up in modest circumstances having to work tens of kilometres daily to fetch water for the family. He started working at his father’s farm at age 5, a farm he still maintains till today. He has lived in Ningi his entire life.

He attended Ningi East Primary School (1969 to 1973) and Government Secondary School, Misau. Graduating from Government Secondary School, Misau in 1978, he enrolled at the Bauchi College of Art and Sciences for a 2-year pre-degree program. He earned his B.Sc. in Sociology from Ahmadu Bello University in 1983, becoming the first in his family to attend university. Shortly after his graduation in 1983, he proceeded on his National Youth Service in Kano. In 1984, he accepted a position in Bauchi state government as a Social Welfare Officer. He was later promoted to the Secretary of Bauchi Rent Tribunal and by 1986 he was headhunted into First Bank of Nigeria as a banking supervisor.

He joined Hi-Tech Computers in 1992 as a Senior Administrative Officer and by 1995 became the Chairman and Chief Executive of NAJ Resources Ltd., Bauchi. In 1996, Abdul Ningi contested for the Bauchi State Assembly under the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) but the Abacha-led government cancelled the election. With the return to civilian rule in 1999, he contested under the PDP and won by a landslide to represent the Ningi Federal Constituency. He was re-elected twice in 2003 and 2007.

During his first term as a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Abdul Ningi served as Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals (2002–2003); Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Teachers’ Education (1999–2002); and Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on NAFDAC (1999–2003). Between 1999 and 2002, he was Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association, helping Nigeria qualify for its second FIFA World Cup appearance. He was re-elected in 2003 and served as House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007, playing a key role in uniting the House during the Third Term Agenda in 2006.

His 2007 election was contested; Salisu Zakari of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) was initially declared the winner, but the appeal court reinstated Abdul Ningi as the rightful winner in 2008. He chaired the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Niger Delta Crisis, contributing to the Amnesty Program that resolved militancy. He was also Chairman of the House Committee on Police Affairs and a member of the House Committee on Jos Crisis and Constitutional Review Committee.

In 2011, Abdul Ningi ran against incumbent Senator Mohammed A. Muhammed of the ANPP, who faced scrutiny for poor representation. He won the April 2011 senatorial election, securing a seat as Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. With PDP maintaining its majority, he was unanimously chosen by colleagues. His development blueprint for Bauchi focused on jobs, farming support, and community development.

He initiated a Graduate Internship Scheme sensitization campaign, registering and enrolling over 1,000 unemployed graduates across Bauchi’s 20 local governments within two months. In partnership with SURE-P, over 3,000 Bauchi youths were engaged in Community Services, Women, and Youth Employment (CSWYE). By October 2014, he was working with FERMA to employ over 1,000 youths in the Public Works for Youth program.

Abdul Ningi assisted 1,850 individual farms with dry-season support and 600 with wet-season support during the 2012–2013 farming seasons. Between 2012 and 2013, he sank 659 hand pump boreholes and installed 43 solar-powered overhead tanks for six LGAs (Danbam, Darazo, Ganjuwa, Ningi, Warji). He also initiated the Ningi Water Reticulation Project, aiming to provide water for over 100,000 inhabitants and boost agriculture and power generation.

To eradicate poverty in Bauchi, he donated 1,500 motorcycles, 600 tricycles, and 500 sewing machines to communities. He also donated numerous 18-seater buses for transportation. Two mega Youth Skill Acquisition Centers in Ningi and Misau, in partnership with SMEDAN, trained over 1,200 youths in tailoring, 250 in basket weaving, and hundreds in craftsmanship. Nine ICT centers were constructed to promote computer literacy.

For the 2013/2014 academic session, 500 primary schools received modernized equipment (whiteboards, markers, furniture) and textbooks under the Ningi Scholarship Scheme, which covers WASSCE and tuition fees for hundreds of youths. Abdul Ningi and his wife, married in 1982, live in Ningi, Bauchi, with five children. He was suspended from the Senate for addressing budget padding issues and resigned as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum over the same matter.