Aminu Hassan Ibrahim

Ibrahim Saminu Turaki (born 14 July 1963) is a Nigerian actuary and politician who served as the governor of Jigawa State from 1999 to 2007. Prior to that, he was the Jigawa state chairman of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP).

He attended the Federal Government College Kaduna and the Ahmadu Bello University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in actuarial science in 1985. He is currently the PDP Candidate for the Jigawa North-West Senatorial District for the 2023 general elections.

Turaki was governor of Jigawa State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. He was elected in the 1999 Jigawa State gubernatorial election and re-elected during the 2003 Jigawa State gubernatorial election on the platform of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP). In December 2006, he transferred his allegiance to the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Turaki joined Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in December 2015. He championed the development of ICT, stressing its importance in nation-building. Key initiatives included establishing the Galaxy Information Technology and Telecommunication (GITT) in 2000, making Jigawa the first state to implement a broadband satellite network and interactive distance learning programs.

He founded the Jigawa Informatics Institute (JII) in 2001, which trained over 7,000 students, many of whom later contributed to the ICT sector or entrepreneurship in Jigawa and Nigeria. Despite criticism over the perceived misallocation of funds toward ICT, his administration invested heavily in renewable energy, solar power plants, and a Universal Basic Education (UBEC) system.

Turaki pioneered the Jigawa State contributory pension scheme in 2001, the first of its kind in Nigeria, and introduced a free trade zone in 2000 to attract investors. He also established the Jigawa State Justice Sector and Law Reform Commission, formalized the vigilante system, and promoted gum arabic exports to the U.S. through partnerships with American companies.

In April 2007, Turaki ran for the Senate as a PDP candidate and was elected for the Jigawa North-West constituency. He served on committees such as Upstream Petroleum Resources, Sports, and National Identity Card & Population. In 2011, he defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria after losing to Danladi Abdullahi Sankara in the PDP primaries.

Turaki decentralized Jigawa’s government in 2000, allocating powers to the Emirate councils. He faced allegations of corruption and money laundering in 2007, leading to his arrest by the EFCC. Though initially detained, he was acquitted in 2022 of the N8.3 billion corruption charges, with the court ruling against the prosecution’s diligence.