Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto left The Sun Awards last Saturday night glowing like a galaxy of stars. He shone brightest on the podium as he stepped forward to be decorated as Governor of the Year. He earned the honour for his transformative leadership of Sokoto state. The management and Editorial Board of The Sun spotted him in faraway Sokoto and brought him to Lagos to be showcased to the world as a governor of the 2023-2027 class of governors whose prudence and managerial acumen has seen Sokoto state move up the ladder of human and infrastructural development since taking over the mantle of governance from his predecessor. To be decorated as “Governor of the Year” by The Sun Newspaper, is a prestigious marker of effective, people-centered governance, offering recognition, inspiration, and a platform to influence Nigeria’s developmental trajectory. It is a call to celebrate success and sustain momentum, rooted in the belief that good leadership deserves to be spotlighted.
Acknowledging Governor Aliyu’s effective and transformational leadership of the Seat of the Caliphate, which earned him the merit-based award, The Sun said the governor “came to office as governor in 2023 with a 9-Point Smart Agenda designed to lift Sokoto to higher grounds.” It noted that his target was to “install the right infrastructure that can spur visible and measurable improvements in the key social and economic areas, like education, healthcare, agriculture, water supply, security, youth empowerment, local government autonomy and religious affairs.”
It further said that “in less than two years of your assumption of office, you have changed the narrative in Sokoto, having done much towards the transformation of the state… when you assumed office, Sokoto metropolis was in total darkness, being indebted to the Power Distribution Company. Also, the streets, government offices and even the Government House were overflowing with garbage. You took action to get these problems solved. To resolve the electricity challenge, you sought an emergency intervention with all stakeholders and the power distribution company to restore electricity to the Government House, state water board, educational institutions, health and other public service institutions that were hitherto disconnected due to accumulated debts. The issue was resolved and problem solved.
“Outside solving the electricity problem, you have completed more than 180 projects in various sectors. In road construction, more than 30 township roads have been completed, while 40 other road projects are on-going in various parts of the state. Solar-powered street lights have also been installed; lighting up the night, improving safety and bringing pleasure to the residents of Sokoto metropolis and across the 23 local government headquarters of the state. You have also given housing a boost with more than 1,000 housing units completed.
“Under your watch, the education sector in the state has received substantial attention with the massive renovation of existing facilities and development of new ones, provision of instructional materials and timely payment of external examinations fees for the students. Also, to show the importance you attach to education, 25 per cent of the 2025 budget was allocated to the sector, surpassing some of the international benchmark recommendations for effective funding of education in developing countries. In the health sector, primary health centres have been renovated and made functional since 2023. New general hospitals are being built, in addition to several other commendable health initiatives, including sustained immunization and free maternity care for pregnant women.
The Sun further noted that “Sokoto state currently runs one of the most down-to-earth social welfare programmes, with your government raising monthly cash transfers to persons living with disabilities, while also making cash allocations to mosques to help cater to the needs of the less privileged persons. In the transport sector, you have taken measures to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy by buying and reselling buses, motorcycles and tricycles to operators at reduced rates to help keep down transportation costs across the state.”
But those are not all! Gov. Aliyu, ever soft-spoken but with an ebullient heart, had also been very proactive on the management of security in Sokoto. To tackle banditry and kidnapping in the state, he initiated the formation of a 2,596-man strong Community Guards Corps, selected from across the state’s 23 local government areas, to complement existing security forces. These guards underwent rigorous training aimed at enhancing their capabilities in community policing, intelligence gathering, and basic combat. They were also equipped with necessary tools like uniforms, motorbikes, and communication gadget to effectively patrol and monitor their areas. This is, however, part of his broader strategy to enhance local security and protect citizens’ lives and properties through which he has empowered state security forces with logistical infrastructure to ensure the security of life and property. These were instrumental to the effective routing of the Lakurawas which posed a security threat to state.
He also created an empowerment scheme through which he has been able to empower many indigenes of the state with soft grants to enable them boost their businesses and become self-reliant. This is besides distributing subsidized fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers to boost their capacity for food production. He is also building dams and either resuscitation water supply schemes or, building new ones to enhance capacity for livestock and crop production even during the dry season.
Governor Aliyu’s emphasis on fiscal prudence and discipline has seen him lead Sokoto through the development of numerous infrastructural projects without mortgaging the future of Sokoto state with loans. As far as he is concerned, Sokoto has enough financial resources to finance the numerous projects that the government had embarked upon including liquidating pension and salary debts that he incurred.
That is one aspect of his leadership of the state that had earned him a lot of applause from critical stakeholders and national leaders. However, while some would argue that not borrowing to finance projects is not a leadership quality, the people of the state appreciate the fact that their governor is not recklessly indebting the state.
The award on Gov. Aliyu is, therefore, an endorsement of his of exemplary governance, amplifying the recipient’s credibility both locally and nationally. The award also acts as a motivational “elixir,” as Plateau State’s Caleb Mutfwang described it in 2024, spurring governors to double down on their efforts. It is a signal to Gov. Aliyu that his work in Sokoto state is seen and valued, thus galvanizing him, as he said, “to do more for the people.”
Part of the reasons that Governor Aliyu has been very effective in his leadership of Sokoto is that he prefers the company of the people that he leads to the allure of Abuja. He lives in Sokoto, spends most of his time there and rarely travels out of the state except when it is exceedingly necessary to do so. This style has endeared him to the residents of the state. It has also enabled him to come to real terms with their problems. Governor Aliyu busies himself finding solutions to identified problems of the people. He is seen today as the first governor of the North West region who drives his team towards solutions while avoiding unnecessary and distractive controversies. This was why his choice as The Sun Governor of the year did not come as a surprise to many people outside Sokoto.