Tajudeen Abbas is the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives. A former university lecturer and business manager from Zaria, he has represented the Zaria federal constituency since 2011 and is known as one of the House’s most prolific sponsors of bills.1
Early life and education
Abbas was born on 1 October 1965 in Kaduna State. He studied at Ahmadu Bello University, where he took a bachelor’s degree in 1988 and a master’s in 1993, and earned a doctorate in business management from Usmanu Danfodiyo University in 2010. He holds the traditional title of Iyan Zazzau.1
Career before politics
He lectured at Kaduna State University from 1993 to 2001 and was a marketing manager at the Nigerian Tobacco Distribution Company from 2001 to 2005.1
House of Representatives
First elected in 2011, Abbas is the only member re-elected repeatedly for Zaria. He has served on committees including commerce, finance, defence, public procurement and national planning, and chaired the land transport committee.1
Speaker (2023–present)
With the backing of the APC leadership and President Bola Tinubu, he was elected Speaker on 13 June 2023, winning 353 of the 359 votes cast. Benjamin Kalu is his deputy.1
As Speaker he has backed an ECOWAS standby force to deter coups and an independent body to oversee party funding. In 2025 he co-sponsored a bill to make voting compulsory, with a fine or jail term for those who did not vote; after public criticism, the bill was withdrawn.1
The National Assembly under his leadership has faced criticism over budget transparency, including the 2024 controversy in which Senator Abdul Ningi alleged that the 2024 budget had been padded by about ₦3 trillion. The Senate suspended Ningi; the leadership of both chambers denied the claim.2
Femi Gbajabiamila