Mohammed Goni: First Civilian Governor of Borno State

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Alhaji Mohammed Goni was a prominent Nigerian Politician and distinguished Abusite who served as the first civilian governor of old Borno State.

Mohammed Goni was born in 1942 in Kareto, Mobbar local government area of Borno State. He attended Maiduguri Middle School (1953–55), Borno Provincial Secondary School (1956–61), Provincial Secondary School, Kano (1962-63) and the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria (1964–87), where he gained a BA (Administration), specialising in international affairs.

Mohammed Goni: First Civilian Governor of Borno State is Dead

The distinguished Abusite in 1977 worked with the Nigerian National Supply Company until april 1979 when he resigned from the company and joined politics of the Second Republic.

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Goni contested and was elected as the first civilian governor of the former Borno State, on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) and was in office from October 1979 till September 1983.

He was also part of the Progressives Coalition led by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Mohammed Goni founded the Borno Radio Television (BRTV) to counter the propaganda of the federal government at that time.

In retrospect, his period of office was considered one of achievements when compared with his successors.

Before the 1983 elections, Goni decamped to the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), running unsuccessfully for reelection against the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) candidate Sheikh Jarma.

In the case of Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) v Alhadji Mohammed Goni (1983), the Supreme Court of Nigeria condemned cross-carpeting by political officeholders.

In his later career life, Goni contested the April 2003 general elections on the United Nigeria People’s Party (UNPP) platform as vice presidential candidate with former Anambra State governor, Chief Jim Nwobodo as the presidential candidate and lost

In January 2011 he was elected by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegate in Borno State and as its governorship candidate in the April 2011 elections. He also lost in the race.

37 years after he left office as Governor of old Borno state (now Borno and Yobe states), Mohammed Goni died on Wednesday, April 20th, 2020 after a brief illness at a private hospital in Maiduguri.

The late elder statesman was a man of unique conviction, who combined high level of competence, brevity, integrity, and overwhelming passion for developmental leadership, all of which earned him a rightful position of pride in the league of Nigeria’s very best.

His footprints have remained golden, and of effectual benefit to generations of citizens. Yet, he lived a rather quiet lifestyle in which he rarely spoke or appeared in public.


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Chila Andrew Aondofa

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