Ahmed Sani Yerima
| Ahmed Rufai Sani | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Zamfara State | |
|
In office 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Jibril Yakubu |
| Succeeded by | Mahmud Shinkafi |
| Senator, Zamfara West | |
|
Assumed office 29 May 2007 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 July 1960 Anka, Zamfara State, Nigeria |
| Political party | All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) |
Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Sani Yerima (born 22 July 1960) was Governor of Zamfara State, Nigeria from May 1999 to May 2007, and is now Senator for Zamfara West and Deputy Minority Leader in the Senate. He is a member of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).
Ahmed Rufai Sani was born on 22 July 1960 in Anka town, Zamfara State.
After completing a matriculation course at the Sokoto College of Arts and Science in 1978, he was admitted to Bayero University, Kano, and graduated with a B.Sc in Economics in 1982. In 1987 he returned to Bayero University and achieved a master's degree in economics.
As part of the National Youth Service he was posted to Borno State, where he worked in the Budget Department of the Governor's office and also taught at the Borno College of Basic Studies, Maiduguri.
In 1983 he began his career in the Sokoto state civil service as an economic planning officer in the Ministry of Finance. Between 1988 and 1993 he worked with various Federal Government bodies, including the National Directorate of Employment from 1988 to 1990, and the Central Bank of Nigeria between 1990 and 1993.
In 1994 he returned to the Sokoto state civil service as the Director of Budget in the Ministry of Finance, holding this position until the creation of Zamfara State in October 1996. He was then appointed Director-General of Lands and Housing, later becoming Permanent Secretary in the same department.
In September 1998 he left the civil service to follow a political career.
Ahmed Rufai Sani Yarima was elected governor of Zamfara State in 1999. He was re-elected in 2003 for a second term, which ended on 29 May 2007.
Yarima was the first Nigerian Governor to implement Sharia law in his state, which came into effect on 27 January 2000. Zamfara's law adopted Sharia in its entirety, with the exceptions that apostasy was not criminalised and all sentences can be appealed to Nigeria's Federal Courts, which do not permit traditional Hudud punishments.
This were greeted with enthusiasm by the state's Muslim majority; thousands of people gathered on the streets of Gusau cheered and shouted "God is great".
Sharia implementation bodies were established in Zamfara, including the Council of Ulama, Hisbah Commission, Zakkat and Endowment Board, Sharia Research and Development Board, and the Preaching Commission.
...
Wikipedia