Major Hamza Al-Mustapha Joins 2023 Nigeria Presidential Race

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha needs no introduction. The Nguru, Yobe State (North-East) born military intelligence officer became popular as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. He was also respected for his wit and intelligence. He held the position between 1993 and 1998 when his boss, Abacha, died, Worldtopnewsng reports.

Following Abacha’s death, Major Al-Mustapha was removed from office by the transitional government of General Abdulsalami Abubakar. However, due to various allegations leveled against him, including the alleged murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Al-Mustapha faced several probe panels and was incarcerated for about 15 years. Along the line, he was convicted and sentenced to death in 2012. Nevertheless, as fate would have it, in July 2013, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the death sentence judgment and acquitted al-Mustapha of the murder charges of Kudirat Abiola. The Supreme Court later confirmed his innocence.

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In 2017, ex-Army Major joined partisan politics, aspiring to become an elected president of Nigeria. He turned out to be a great grassroots mobilizer with teeming youth across the country as followers.

Al-Mustapha founded a political party that christened the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN). But because of the peculiar nature of Nigeria’s politics and politicians, he has tactically shoved aside but later, he eventually emerged as the presidential candidate on another platform, the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN). His ambition was to contest the 2019 presidential election alongside other contestants such as the sitting president, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.

From then Al-Mustapha did not leave anybody in doubt that he really meant business, as he traversed the length and breadth of the country, canvassing for votes, selling his manifestoes, and delivering lectures.

Recently, Al-Mustapha had disclosed to his friends in the media that his ambition to be in politics was borne out of the love he has for the country and his belief that the country could still be salvaged. He said he wanted to use his experience as an intelligence officer from the Army to solve the mirage of challenges, confronting the nation through an all-inclusive government.

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However, just along the line, Al-Mustapha and his campaign train disappeared from the political radar. Nobody could volunteer any reason for the shocking development. A couple of sources who attempted to hazard a guess on the condition of anonymity just called attention to the fact that Al-Mustapha, as an intelligence guru, should know what to do and when to do it. While some said it was due to respect he had for his boss, Buhari, who had signified his intention to run for a second term in office, others said security reports might have told him to tarry a while and not rock the boat yet.

And as 2023 inches closer by every passing day, Worldtopnewsng went out in search of the military intelligence officer to sound him out on his plan for the next election. We eventually got his Personal Assistant, Mallam Idris Galadima, through his WhatsApp platform. Here is his terse response to our inquiry: “Yes, go ahead (and publish). Insha Allah, he will run for the presidency.”

This is the confirmation of several ‘Al-Mustapha for President’ Facebook campaign groups for the Yobe State indigene.

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Some of the questions agitating the minds of political observers are, on what platform is he going to contest? What is his position on the rotational presidency? What now emboldened him to think this is the right time to come out? And what gives him the confidence that he has the slightest chance to make any electoral impact in 2023?

These and others are the questions our team would shoot at him when we eventually ‘capture’ him. It’s a promise.