3 Jun 2003 – 5 Jun 2007
THE PERSON
Party recorded for this termPeoples Democratic PartyPDPEach line shows where it comes from. A listed contact is not proof it is answered or current.
Usman Muhammad Bugaje (INEC: BUGAJE USMAN MUHAMMED) is the Social Democratic Party (SDP) vice-presidential candidate for the election of 16 January 2027, as running mate to Adewole Adebayo, and was a member of the House of Representatives for Jibia/Kaita, Katsina State, from 2003 to 2007. He was born in 1951 and comes from Jibia in Katsina State. He attended Barewa College, Zaria, graduated in pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello…
Usman Muhammad Bugaje (INEC: BUGAJE USMAN MUHAMMED) is the Social Democratic Party (SDP) vice-presidential candidate for the election of 16 January 2027, as running mate to Adewole Adebayo, and was a member of the House of Representatives for Jibia/Kaita, Katsina State, from 2003 to 2007. He was born in 1951 and comes from Jibia in Katsina State. He attended Barewa College, Zaria, graduated in pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello University in 1975, and earned an MA in African and Asian Studies (1981) and a PhD in the intellectual history of West Africa from the University of Khartoum. He practised as a pharmacist, taught at Ahmadu Bello University and has written on the Sokoto Caliphate, including "The Past as Future" (2015). A member of the G-34 group that opposed the Abacha regime in 1998 and grew into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he was Special Adviser (Political) to Vice President Atiku Abubakar from 1999 to 2003. Elected to the House on the PDP ticket in April 2003, he chaired its Committee on Foreign Affairs until 2007. In March 2006 he was among officials named, in his capacity as committee chairman, for an EFCC probe of a 2005 hajj loan; no finding or charge against him was reported. In December 2006 he left the PDP for the Action Congress (AC). He was the AC candidate for Governor of Katsina in April 2007 and lost to Ibrahim Shema (PDP). He was the party's National Secretary from 2007 until December 2010, when he stepped down to seek its 2011 presidential ticket, which went to Nuhu Ribadu. He then ran for governor again on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform in April 2011 and lost to Shema; the Court of Appeal struck out his challenge as out of time on 19 September 2011. He joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) at its formation in 2013, lost its December 2014 Katsina governorship primary to Aminu Bello Masari, and in October 2016 declined President Muhammadu Buhari's nomination of him as an ambassador. The State Security Service questioned him in January 2012 over the fuel-subsidy protests and held him for about eight hours in April 2021 over television interviews critical of the government; no charge was reported either time. In June 2022 he came second in the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential primary with 813 votes to Kola Abiola's 2,097. He has led civic groups including the Arewa Research and Development Project, the Rescue Nigeria Project (2021) and the Arewa Movement for Good Governance, and since November 2025 has chaired the Movement for Credible Elections. After joining the SDP (the date was not found) he chaired the committee for its national convention in Bauchi on 9 May 2026, which affirmed Adebayo as presidential candidate. INEC's final list of 12 September 2026 names Bugaje as Adebayo's running mate.
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37 linked entries · 70 distinct source links
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Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) · Pharmacy
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
Pharmacy practice (employer not found)
Trained and practised as a pharmacist after his 1975 pharmacy degree at Ahmadu Bello University, before turning to scholarship and politics. Where and for how long he practised was not found.
Institute of African and Asian Studies, University of Khartoum
MA in African and Asian Studies (Institute of African and Asian Studies) · African Studies
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
G-34 (group of politicians opposed to the Abacha regime)
Member of the G-34, the group of politicians that confronted General Sani Abacha's regime in 1998 and became the core of the Peoples Democratic Party. In January 2005 he spoke for a revived "new G-34" meeting to rescue the PDP.
Office of the Vice President of Nigeria
Special Adviser (Political) to Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the first Obasanjo administration: in post from 1999 (the appointment day was not found; the Vice President was sworn in on 29 May 1999) and still serving on 20 September 2002. He left to contest the April 2003 House of Representatives election; the exit day was not found, and by 30 October 2003 he was described as…
Special Adviser (Political) to Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the first Obasanjo administration: in post from 1999 (the appointment day was not found; the Vice President was sworn in on 29 May 1999) and still serving on 20 September 2002. He left to contest the April 2003 House of Representatives election; the exit day was not found, and by 30 October 2003 he was described as the former adviser. By his own account he was also President Olusegun Obasanjo's envoy to Sudan from 2000 to 2003, during the Sudan peace process.
Peoples Democratic Party · Jibia/Kaita · Katsina
Elected to the House of Representatives for Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency, Katsina State, on the PDP ticket at the National Assembly election of 12 April 2003 (the INEC 2003 polling day; not read from a result sheet). He was member-elect by 10 May 2003. No vote figures, and no PDP primary date or result, were found. Before the inauguration he was one of the contenders for…
Elected to the House of Representatives for Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency, Katsina State, on the PDP ticket at the National Assembly election of 12 April 2003 (the INEC 2003 polling day; not read from a result sheet). He was member-elect by 10 May 2003. No vote figures, and no PDP primary date or result, were found. Before the inauguration he was one of the contenders for Speaker, backed by some North-West and South-South members-elect; the PDP North-West caucus adopted Aminu Bello Masari on 24 May 2003, and Masari was elected Speaker on 3 June 2003. He took his seat at the inauguration of the 5th Assembly on 3 June 2003 and moved to the Action Congress in December 2006, before the term ended.
Jibia/Kaita · Katsina
Reason recorded for departure: Term end.
Forum for Democracy and Good Governance (House of Representatives caucus)
Coordinator (facilitator) of the Forum for Democracy and Good Governance, a caucus of House members, whose inaugural address he gave; reported in February 2004 and last seen in May 2005.
Katsina
Won the Action Congress (AC) nomination for Governor of Katsina State for 2007. He picked the AC nomination form at the party's Katsina secretariat on Tuesday 5 December 2006, soon after leaving the PDP with the Atiku camp, and was the AC candidate by 28 January 2007. The primary day and votes were not found. The Action Congress (AC, renamed Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in…
Won the Action Congress (AC) nomination for Governor of Katsina State for 2007. He picked the AC nomination form at the party's Katsina secretariat on Tuesday 5 December 2006, soon after leaving the PDP with the Atiku camp, and was the AC candidate by 28 January 2007. The primary day and votes were not found. The Action Congress (AC, renamed Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in 2010; merged into the APC in 2013) is defunct and has no party record here, so no party is linked.
National Democratic Project (Atiku Abubakar 2007 campaign think tank)
Head of the National Democratic Project, the think tank behind Atiku Abubakar's 2007 presidential campaign. The start year was not found.
Action Congress / Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
National Secretary of the Action Congress (renamed Action Congress of Nigeria in 2010; now defunct), replacing Bashir Dalhatu, who resigned on 7 August 2007; the day he was elected was not found. In March 2008 INEC said it did not recognise his election because it had not monitored the meeting that elected him, and in mid-2008 two state chairmen petitioned INEC against him; the…
National Secretary of the Action Congress (renamed Action Congress of Nigeria in 2010; now defunct), replacing Bashir Dalhatu, who resigned on 7 August 2007; the day he was elected was not found. In March 2008 INEC said it did not recognise his election because it had not monitored the meeting that elected him, and in mid-2008 two state chairmen petitioned INEC against him; the party kept him in office. He stepped down to seek the 2011 presidential ticket, and Lawal Shuaibu replaced him at the Benin national convention on Monday 20 December 2010. He describes it as "three and a half years in party administration".
Katsina
ACN candidate for Governor of Katsina State for 2011, a ticket he took after the ACN presidential ticket went to Nuhu Ribadu; he was the candidate by 23 February 2011. The primary day and votes were not found. The Action Congress (AC, renamed Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in 2010; merged into the APC in 2013) is defunct and has no party record here, so no party is linked.
Aspirant for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) 2011 presidential ticket: he stepped down as ACN National Secretary at the Benin convention of 20 December 2010 to contest. At the national convention in Lagos on Friday 14 January 2011 Vanguard listed him among four front-runners; Nuhu Ribadu was affirmed by voice vote after Attahiru Bafarawa and Saidu Malami withdrew. No…
Aspirant for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) 2011 presidential ticket: he stepped down as ACN National Secretary at the Benin convention of 20 December 2010 to contest. At the national convention in Lagos on Friday 14 January 2011 Vanguard listed him among four front-runners; Nuhu Ribadu was affirmed by voice vote after Attahiru Bafarawa and Saidu Malami withdrew. No report of Bugaje on the ballot or of his withdrawal was found; "lost" means he did not get the ticket. The Action Congress (AC, renamed Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in 2010; merged into the APC in 2013) is defunct and has no party record here, so no party is linked.
Katsina
ACN candidate in the Katsina State governorship election of Tuesday 26 April 2011. Ibrahim Shema of the PDP won (1,029,912 votes) ahead of Aminu Bello Masari of the CPC (555,769); Bugaje came third. His tally of 19,990 votes is from Wikipedia only (low confidence) and no share is stored. Before the poll he accused the PDP of plotting with INEC and security agencies to rig it.…
ACN candidate in the Katsina State governorship election of Tuesday 26 April 2011. Ibrahim Shema of the PDP won (1,029,912 votes) ahead of Aminu Bello Masari of the CPC (555,769); Bugaje came third. His tally of 19,990 votes is from Wikipedia only (low confidence) and no share is stored. Before the poll he accused the PDP of plotting with INEC and security agencies to rig it. He challenged the result; on 19 September 2011 the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, held his appeal statute-barred (see legal records). The Action Congress (AC, renamed Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in 2010; merged into the APC in 2013) is defunct and has no party record here, so no party is linked.
All Progressives Congress · Katsina
Aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Katsina governorship primary for 2015; he picked the nomination forms in Katsina in late October 2014. Aminu Bello Masari won with 2,470 of 5,266 votes, defeating eight aspirants including Bugaje; Bugaje's tally was not reported. The primary day (Thursday 4 December 2014, when APC governorship primaries ran in 29 states) is…
Aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Katsina governorship primary for 2015; he picked the nomination forms in Katsina in late October 2014. Aminu Bello Masari won with 2,470 of 5,266 votes, defeating eight aspirants including Bugaje; Bugaje's tally was not reported. The primary day (Thursday 4 December 2014, when APC governorship primaries ran in 29 states) is inferred from a Daily Trust preview of that day (medium confidence).
Books and Libraries
Rescue Nigeria Project (RNP)
National Coordinator of the Rescue Nigeria Project, a self-described non-partisan group formed ahead of 2023 with former Kwara governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, Tunde Adeniran and others; its inaugural national caucus met in Abuja on Tuesday 21 September 2021.
Peoples Redemption Party
Aspirant for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) 2023 presidential ticket: he picked the nomination and expression-of-interest forms in Abuja on Friday 20 May 2022. In the primary, voted by delegates in the 36 states and the FCT on Sunday 5 June 2022, he came second with 813 votes to 2,097 for Kola Abiola; Patience Key had 329 and Gboluga Mosugu 263. The 23.2% share is of the…
Aspirant for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) 2023 presidential ticket: he picked the nomination and expression-of-interest forms in Abuja on Friday 20 May 2022. In the primary, voted by delegates in the 36 states and the FCT on Sunday 5 June 2022, he came second with 813 votes to 2,097 for Kola Abiola; Patience Key had 329 and Gboluga Mosugu 263. The 23.2% share is of the 3,502 votes for the four aspirants (NAN reported 3,519 valid votes, which gives 23.1%).
Arewa Movement for Good Governance (AM2G)
Convener of the Arewa Movement for Good Governance, a northern political group: it held a press briefing in Kaduna on Thursday 21 March 2024, and he was still styled its convener on 31 March 2026. The founding date was not found.
Movement for Credible Elections (MCE)
Chairman of the Movement for Credible Elections, a coalition for electoral reform launched at a national summit in Abuja on Tuesday 11 November 2025 (co-chair Oby Ezekwesili); it led a protest at the National Assembly on 17 February 2026 and opposed INEC's appeal against the election-timetable judgment in May 2026. Whether he stayed chairman after becoming the SDP…
Chairman of the Movement for Credible Elections, a coalition for electoral reform launched at a national summit in Abuja on Tuesday 11 November 2025 (co-chair Oby Ezekwesili); it led a protest at the National Assembly on 17 February 2026 and opposed INEC's appeal against the election-timetable judgment in May 2026. Whether he stayed chairman after becoming the SDP vice-presidential candidate was not found.
Social Democratic Party (SDP)
Chairman of the SDP National Convention Planning (Organising) Committee for the party's national convention and presidential primary at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, on Saturday 9 May 2026, which affirmed Adewole Adebayo as presidential candidate. The appointment date was not found.
Social Democratic Party
INEC final list of candidates (Presidential), published 2026-09-12 — SN 16; INEC name: BUGAJE USMAN MUHAMMED; age 74; male; qualification (as declared to INEC): FSLC SSCE PHD Running mate to Prince Adewole Ebenezer Adebayo, whom the SDP national convention in Bauchi affirmed as its sole presidential candidate on Saturday 9 May 2026 (Bugaje chaired the convention committee). No…
INEC final list of candidates (Presidential), published 2026-09-12 — SN 16; INEC name: BUGAJE USMAN MUHAMMED; age 74; male; qualification (as declared to INEC): FSLC SSCE PHD Running mate to Prince Adewole Ebenezer Adebayo, whom the SDP national convention in Bauchi affirmed as its sole presidential candidate on Saturday 9 May 2026 (Bugaje chaired the convention committee). No separate announcement of his selection was found; INEC published the Adebayo/Bugaje ticket in its display of candidates' particulars around 1 August 2026. On 16 September 2026 he said he had not planned to run but was persuaded to join the ticket. Poll day: 16 January 2027.
Member of the All Progressives Congress from its formation in 2013 (only the year is known, so no start date is stored), when the Action Congress of Nigeria merged into it. From December 2006 to 2013 he had been in the Action Congress / Action Congress of Nigeria (defunct; no party record here): its Katsina governorship candidate in 2007 and 2011 and its National Secretary from 2007 to December 2010. In the APC he lost the Katsina governorship primary of December 2014 to…
Member of the All Progressives Congress from its formation in 2013 (only the year is known, so no start date is stored), when the Action Congress of Nigeria merged into it. From December 2006 to 2013 he had been in the Action Congress / Action Congress of Nigeria (defunct; no party record here): its Katsina governorship candidate in 2007 and 2011 and its National Secretary from 2007 to December 2010. In the APC he lost the Katsina governorship primary of December 2014 to Aminu Bello Masari and in October 2016 declined President Muhammadu Buhari's nomination of him as a non-career ambassador; by 2019 he was a public critic of the Buhari government while still described as an APC politician. The exit day was not found: the end date stored is 20 May 2022, when he picked the Peoples Redemption Party's presidential forms, i.e. the latest date by which he had left.
Secondary school certificate (declared to INEC as SSCE)
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP)
Convener of the Arewa Research and Development Project, a northern public-policy group promoting stable governance and economic renewal in the northern states. It existed by October 2016, when he cited it in declining an ambassadorial nomination, and was still issuing statements in December 2025. The founding year was not found.
Network for Justice
Founding chairman of Network for Justice, an advocacy group for civic education, consumer and human rights, in existence by March 2001. The founding year was not found.
Chair · House
Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)
Described as a chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum in February 2025; no ACF office is named in the sources.
Member of the Peoples Democratic Party from its formation: he belonged to the G-34 group that confronted the Abacha regime in 1998 and became the core of the PDP (only the year is known, so no start date is stored). He was Special Adviser (Political) to Vice President Atiku Abubakar (1999-2003), won the Jibia/Kaita House of Representatives seat on the PDP ticket in 2003 and became a critic of President Obasanjo inside the party. He left for the Action Congress (AC; renamed…
Member of the Peoples Democratic Party from its formation: he belonged to the G-34 group that confronted the Abacha regime in 1998 and became the core of the PDP (only the year is known, so no start date is stored). He was Special Adviser (Political) to Vice President Atiku Abubakar (1999-2003), won the Jibia/Kaita House of Representatives seat on the PDP ticket in 2003 and became a critic of President Obasanjo inside the party. He left for the Action Congress (AC; renamed Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in 2010; defunct, with no party record here) with the Atiku camp in December 2006, and did not return to the PDP when Atiku later did. The exit day was not found: the end date stored is Tuesday 5 December 2006, when he picked the AC governorship nomination form in Katsina, i.e. the latest date by which he had left.
Peoples Redemption Party member by Friday 20 May 2022, when he picked its presidential nomination forms in Abuja (the join day was not found, so no start date is stored); he came second in its presidential primary on 5 June 2022. The exit day was not found; in February 2025 he spoke as an Arewa Consultative Forum chieftain, not as a party member. The end date stored is 9 May 2026, when he chaired the SDP national convention committee, i.e. the latest date by which he had…
Peoples Redemption Party member by Friday 20 May 2022, when he picked its presidential nomination forms in Abuja (the join day was not found, so no start date is stored); he came second in its presidential primary on 5 June 2022. The exit day was not found; in February 2025 he spoke as an Arewa Consultative Forum chieftain, not as a party member. The end date stored is 9 May 2026, when he chaired the SDP national convention committee, i.e. the latest date by which he had left.
Spouse
Barrister/human-rights activist described in national press as the wife of Dr Usman Bugaje (SDP 2027 vice-presidential nominee; ex-House of Representatives member for Jibia/Kaita, Katsina; ex-Special Adviser (Political) to VP Atiku Abubakar). Archived NASS member profile records him as 'Married with 10 Children'. CONFLICT on the spouse's identity: a Sahelian Times report names…
Barrister/human-rights activist described in national press as the wife of Dr Usman Bugaje (SDP 2027 vice-presidential nominee; ex-House of Representatives member for Jibia/Kaita, Katsina; ex-Special Adviser (Political) to VP Atiku Abubakar). Archived NASS member profile records him as 'Married with 10 Children'. CONFLICT on the spouse's identity: a Sahelian Times report names a different spouse, Dr Mairo Mandara (possibly a second marriage, or a reporting error). Needs human resolution.
Current membership of the Social Democratic Party. The joining day was not found, so no start date is stored: in February 2025 he said, as an Arewa Consultative Forum chieftain, that he "would have supported" the SDP's Adewole Adebayo; on 31 March 2026 he attended the Afenifere assembly in Ilesa that endorsed the SDP; and he chaired the SDP National Convention Planning Committee for the convention in Bauchi on Saturday 9 May 2026, which affirmed Adebayo as presidential…
Current membership of the Social Democratic Party. The joining day was not found, so no start date is stored: in February 2025 he said, as an Arewa Consultative Forum chieftain, that he "would have supported" the SDP's Adewole Adebayo; on 31 March 2026 he attended the Afenifere assembly in Ilesa that endorsed the SDP; and he chaired the SDP National Convention Planning Committee for the convention in Bauchi on Saturday 9 May 2026, which affirmed Adebayo as presidential candidate. He is Adebayo's running mate for the election of 16 January 2027 (INEC final list of 12 September 2026, SN 16).
An end date is not recorded for this membership.
Islam in Africa Organisation (IAO)
Worked with the Islam in Africa Organisation, a pan-African Islamic body, in which Salaam says he was prominent. Title and years not found.
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Taught at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, per his own 2001 biography. The post, department and years were not found (probably between his 1981 Khartoum MA and 1999).
University of Khartoum
PhD · Intellectual History of West Africa
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
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