Responsibilities of the office
State policy and services
Leads the state executive and implements laws through ministries and agencies, including services within state responsibility.
Budgets and public money
Presents spending proposals to the House of Assembly. Public spending must follow the Constitution, appropriation laws and other applicable rules.
Executive appointments
Nominates commissioners for confirmation by the House of Assembly and assigns portfolios within the state executive.
Legislation
Considers bills passed by the House of Assembly for assent. The Constitution also provides a procedure for the Assembly to override withheld assent.
Accountability and limits
The governor is accountable under the Constitution. Courts and the legislature have separate powers. The office does not confer personal command of the armed forces or unlimited control over federal agencies and local councils.
About Babagana Umara Zulum
Babagana Umara Zulum is Governor of Borno State. He first won the governorship in 2019, following work in engineering, university teaching and reconstruction administration.
Education and engineering
Zulum is from Mafa Local Government Area. His education included Ramat Polytechnic and the University of Maiduguri. He studied Agricultural Engineering and later obtained a master’s degree from the University of Ibadan and a doctorate in Soil and Water Engineering from the University of Maiduguri.
Academic and administrative career
He worked in public engineering roles before joining the University of Maiduguri as a lecturer in 2000. His university responsibilities included faculty leadership. In 2011, he became Rector of Ramat Polytechnic.
Reconstruction and governorship
In 2015, he was appointed Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement under Governor Kashim Shettima. He later won election as governor. The current Governor’s Office describes rebuilding communities, restoring livelihoods, agriculture and human development as priorities within Borno’s long-term development plan.
Sources and verification
Official background and verification 1
Official background and verification 2
