Abba Bichi at 45: The making of a lawmaker under Ganduje’s political mentorship

By Umar Idris Shuaibu

At 45, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Abubakar Bichi has established himself as one of the prominent legislators from Kano State, combining two terms in the House of Representatives with leadership of committees that have placed him at the centre of important legislative responsibilities.

Born on October 2, 1981, in Bichi, Kano State, Bichi represents Bichi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and currently chairs the House Committee on Appropriations. He first entered the National Assembly in 2019 and was re-elected in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His rise in the National Assembly has been marked by a progression in committee responsibilities. In the Ninth Assembly, he chaired the House Committee on Works from 2019 to 2023, before assuming the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee in the 10th Assembly. The National Assembly’s official records list him as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

From Bichi to the National Assembly

Bichi’s educational background includes a BSc in Interdisciplinary Studies and an MSc in Energy Management from the New York Institute of Technology in the United States. His official National Assembly profile also records his primary, junior secondary and senior secondary education in Bichi and Dawakin Tofa Science College.

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His political journey into the House began in 2019, when he won the Bichi Federal Constituency seat. Four years later, he retained the seat and subsequently emerged as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, a position that gives him a major role in the legislative consideration of Nigeria’s federal budget.

The trajectory has placed Bichi in positions that extend beyond constituency representation, particularly through his former responsibility for infrastructure oversight and his current role in the federal budget process.

Bichi and Ganduje: A political relationship

Bichi’s political career developed during a period when Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje one of the dominant political figures in Kano, first as deputy governor and later as governor of the state.

It is in this context that Bichi’s relationship with Ganduje has often been described in political circles as one involving mentorship. However, the precise nature and extent of such mentorship are matters of political interpretation rather than something that can be conclusively established from public records alone.

What is documented is a series of political and official engagements between the two men.

In August 2020, while serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Bichi led members of the committee on an oversight visit to Kano and met with then-Governor Ganduje. During the engagement, Bichi pledged legislative support for the Kano State Government’s proposed light rail project.

The encounter was significant because Bichi was then leading a National Assembly committee responsible for oversight of federal infrastructure, while Ganduje was governor of the state. It provided a public example of their interaction within the political and institutional structures of the period.

Their association must therefore be viewed against the wider Kano political environment in which Bichi built his career. Ganduje was governor when Bichi entered the House in 2019, while Bichi subsequently developed his own legislative profile through committee leadership, re-election and constituency activities.

Whether described as mentorship, political association or part of the broader network within Kano’s APC structure, the relationship forms part of the political context surrounding Bichi’s emergence. His subsequent career, however, has also been shaped by his own electoral victories and legislative responsibilities.

From works to appropriations

Bichi’s first major committee leadership in the House came through the Committee on Works, which he chaired throughout the Ninth Assembly.

That position brought him into the oversight of federal infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and other major works. His committee’s responsibilities also brought him into engagements with government agencies, contractors and state authorities.

By the beginning of the 10th Assembly in 2023, Bichi had moved from infrastructure oversight to one of the House’s most consequential financial committees.

As Chairman of Appropriations, his role involves the legislative examination and processing of the Federal Government’s proposed expenditure. The position does not give him sole control over the national budget; rather, it places him at the head of the House committee responsible for a major part of the legislative budget process.

His committee leadership has consequently expanded his public profile from a constituency lawmaker in Kano to a legislator with a significant national legislative responsibility.

Constituency development and education

Away from committee responsibilities in Abuja, education has become one of the prominent areas associated with Bichi’s constituency interventions.

In June 2026, Bichi paid ₦39.6 million in first-semester tuition fees for 2,423 students of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Bichi, for the 2025/2026 academic session. The payment was made through the Late Alhaji Kabir Abubakar Bichi Foundation under the supervision of his Education Committee.

A month later, he launched the fourth edition of his Postgraduate Support Programme, approving ₦25.85 million in scholarships for 122 constituents pursuing Master’s and PhD programmes in higher institutions across Nigeria.

The interventions form part of a broader education-focused programme associated with his constituency office. According to reports on the postgraduate programme, Bichi also disclosed initiatives involving classroom construction, temporary teachers and scholarships for students in science and technical schools. Those figures and projects are based on statements attributed to the lawmaker and should therefore be understood as reported programme claims.

A lawmaker at 45

Bichi’s 45th birthday therefore comes at a point when his political career has moved through several stages: from a first-time federal legislator in 2019, to Chairman of the Works Committee, and later to Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

The progression also reflects the changing responsibilities attached to his position. His earlier legislative role placed him prominently in infrastructure oversight, while his current assignment has brought him into the federal budget process.

For Kano, his career has remained closely connected to Bichi Federal Constituency, where educational support, scholarships and other constituency programmes have formed an important part of his public activities.

The Ganduje connection remains part of the political story surrounding his emergence, particularly because of the timing of Bichi’s entry into the House and their documented public engagements during Ganduje’s tenure as governor. But Bichi’s record since 2019 also provides an independent basis for examining his development as a lawmaker.

At 45, his political journey is thus defined not by a single relationship alone, but by the combination of the political environment in which he emerged, the elections he contested and won, the committee responsibilities he has held, and the constituency programmes associated with his office.

As he marks the milestone, the occasion offers an opportunity to reflect on a legislative career that has progressed from constituency representation to national responsibility, while his political and public-service journey continues to evolve.

Happy 45th birthday to Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi.