Sokoto, seat of the Sultanate and spiritual centre of Nigeria’s Muslims, has some of the most competitive governorship politics in the North. Since 1999 it has had four governors from three parties, an annulled election, a rerun, an election forced by a Supreme Court ruling on tenure and, in 2019, a result decided by just 342 votes. Much of that history is a story of patrons and protégés falling out: Attahiru Bafarawa and his deputy Aliyu Wamakko, then Wamakko and his chosen successor Aminu Tambuwal.
1999 and 2003: Bafarawa
Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, a businessman, won the January 1999 election for the All People’s Party with 249,205 votes against 182,655 for the PDP’s Muhammadu Modi Yabo. He was re-elected for the ANPP in April 2003 with 665,545 votes to 245,047 for the PDP’s Abdallah Wali. After leaving office he spent years fighting corruption charges brought by the EFCC; in 2018 a court dismissed the main case against him.
2007 and 2008: Wamakko, annulment and rerun
Bafarawa’s deputy, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, broke with him and joined the PDP. In April 2007 Wamakko won with 392,258 votes against 296,419 for Bafarawa’s candidate, Muhammed Dingyadi of the Democratic People’s Party. In 2008 the result was annulled on appeal, one of a string of 2007 governorship results thrown out for fraud, and Wamakko won the rerun on 24 May 2008 with 562,395 votes to Dingyadi’s 124,046.
2012: an election forced by tenure
Because of the rerun, Wamakko’s case fell under the Supreme Court’s January 2012 ruling that governors who had won reruns must count their tenure from their first oath in May 2007. Sokoto voted again on 18 February 2012, and Wamakko won with 518,247 votes against 131,048 for the ANPP’s Yusha’u Ahmed. In 2013 he joined the new APC.
2015: the Speaker comes home
Wamakko’s choice for 2015 was Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who had defected from the PDP in 2014. Tambuwal won on 11 April 2015 with 647,609 votes to 269,074 for the PDP’s Abdallah Wali. The two men soon fell out, and in 2017 Tambuwal returned to the PDP and later sought its presidential ticket.
2019: 342 votes
The 2019 race set Tambuwal against Wamakko’s candidate, former deputy governor Ahmad Aliyu of the APC. The first round on 9 March was declared inconclusive because the votes cancelled exceeded the margin. After a supplementary election on 23 March 2019, INEC declared Tambuwal re-elected with 512,002 votes to Aliyu’s 511,660, a margin of 342, one of the narrowest in any Nigerian governorship election. The APC challenged the result but lost in court.
2023: Aliyu’s turn
Aliyu tried again in 2023 and this time won. On 18 March he took 453,661 votes (52.5%) against 404,632 for the PDP’s Saidu Umar. The tribunal dismissed the PDP’s petition, and in January 2024 the Supreme Court affirmed his election.
The results at a glance
| Year | Winner (party) | Votes | Runner-up (party) | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Attahiru Bafarawa (APP) | 249,205 | Muhammadu Modi Yabo (PDP) | 182,655 |
| 2003 | Attahiru Bafarawa (ANPP) | 665,545 | Abdallah Wali (PDP) | 245,047 |
| 2007 | Aliyu Wamakko (PDP), annulled | 392,258 | Muhammed Dingyadi (DPP) | 296,419 |
| 2008 rerun | Aliyu Wamakko (PDP) | 562,395 | Muhammed Dingyadi (DPP) | 124,046 |
| 2012 | Aliyu Wamakko (PDP) | 518,247 | Yusha’u Ahmed (ANPP) | 131,048 |
| 2015 | Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (APC) | 647,609 | Abdallah Wali (PDP) | 269,074 |
| 2019 | Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (PDP) | 512,002 | Ahmad Aliyu (APC) | 511,660 |
| 2023 | Ahmad Aliyu (APC) | 453,661 | Saidu Umar (PDP) | 404,632 |
2027: Aliyu seeks a second term
Aliyu is the APC candidate in the 6 February 2027 election. INEC’s final list names Abdullahi Sokoto Abubakar for the PDP and Manir Muhammad Dan’iya, Tambuwal’s former deputy governor, for the ADC.
