Sani Bello Abubakar
Sani Bello Abubakar is a Nigerian politician from Niger. They have contested 1 election (1 win) across 1 party. Most recent: 2023 Nigerian Senate Elections as All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
Biography
Abubakar Sani Bello (born 17 December 1967), also known as Lolo, is a Nigerian politician who is the current senator representing the Niger North Senatorial District. He previously served as the governor of Niger State from 2015 to 2023. He is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abubakar Sani Bello was born on 17 December 1967, the son of the former military governor of Old Kano State, Col. Sani Bello. He attended St. Louis Primary School, Kano from 1974 to 1979, and then went to the Nigerian Military School from 1980 to 1985. He studied at the University of Maiduguri from 1986 to 1991, where he obtained a BSc in economics.
He has worked in various capacities in the country, starting from his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) days, where he was posted to serve in Port Harcourt in the marketing department of NICOTES Services as Supervisor.
Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello won the Niger State, APC gubernatorial primaries for the 2015 election, polling 3,829 votes to defeat Senator Musa Ibrahim. He later won the general election with a total of 593,709 votes, declared winner by INEC on 13 April 2015.
He was reelected as Governor of Niger State on 9 March 2019. On 24 August 2020, he endorsed a Reconciliation Committee and other committees at a State Executive Committee meeting, including members of the National Assembly from the State led by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi and other party chieftains. The aim of this committee was to rebuild and reposition the party for better performance in the 2023 elections.
During his administration, Governor Bello focused on improving Nigeria’s education sector by utilizing available resources. He prioritized education and rebuilt a significant number of boarding schools out of 60 in the state.
Political Career
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Technology & Digital
Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.
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.