Director General SMEDAN
Muhammad Nadada Umar, 54, hails from Danbam in Dambam Local Government of Bauchi state. He holds the traditional title of Zannan Misau, Bauchi State. The Fellow of the Corporate Administrators Institute of Nigeria, is an alumnus of the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University [ABU], Zaria. He is a man of many parts: lawyer, banker, entrepreneur, administrator and politician. He has brought his varied background to bear in his current position as the Director-General/Chief Executive of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria [SMEDAN].
He attended Akuyam Primary School and Government Secondary School Azare before proceeding to Ahmadu Bello University [ABU] Zaria in 1973. He graduated in 1978 with Bachelor of Law [LLB] Honours Degree and then entered the Nigerian Law School Lagos from where he came out Barrister-at-Law [BL] in 1980.
He was once a Legal Officer with the Bauchi State Ministry of Justice. From 1980 to 1984, he served as Assistant Company Secretary/Legal Adviser with Bauchi State Investment & Property Development Company Limited. Due to his outstanding performance, he was promoted to Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, a position he occupied till January 1990.
He later joined the New Africa Merchant Bank Limited where he served as Senior Manager & Bank Secretary up to May 1992. He was promoted the following month to Assistant General Manager/Bank Secretary and rose in January 1994 to General Manager/Bank Secretary, a position he occupied till April 1996.
Umar veered from banking to the industrial sector when took up job as General Manager/Chief Executive of the Cotton & Agricultural Processors Limited where he controlled eight branches with zonal offices at Zaria, Gombe and Malumfashi. A company with over 2000 personnel, he turned it around from loss-making to profitability. His first year performance recorded a profit of over N26 million for a company that hitherto operated at a loss. A great investor, he was Director of NEWDEVCO Finance Service Company Limited from 1991 to 1996 and Chairman of Yankari Insurance Company Limited from 1992 to 1999. At the return of democracy to Nigeria, he ventured into the rough terrain of politics. A human development strategist, he had looked forward to challenging opportunities to influence positively the plight of the poor. His party, the Peoples Democratic Party [POP] formed the Government in Bauchi State as well as at the centre. He became the Secretary to the State Government [SSG] from June 1999 to November 2006. As SSG, he was the Chief Adviser to the Governor, Alhaji [Dr.] Ahmadu Adamu Mu'azu (Wolin Bauchi) who was highly rated by the media for his outstanding performance, especially in the area of infrastructure. Umar's other responsibilities include coordinating the activities of all the state ministries as well as guiding the government within its stipulated programmes.
Before his appointment as the Director-General of SMEDAN, he was the POP gubernatorial flag-bearer in Bauchi State at the 2007 general elections. For Muhammad Nadada Umar, his story is yet to be told.
He attended Akuyam Primary School and Government Secondary School Azare before proceeding to Ahmadu Bello University [ABU] Zaria in 1973. He graduated in 1978 with Bachelor of Law [LLB] Honours Degree and then entered the Nigerian Law School Lagos from where he came out Barrister-at-Law [BL] in 1980.
He was once a Legal Officer with the Bauchi State Ministry of Justice. From 1980 to 1984, he served as Assistant Company Secretary/Legal Adviser with Bauchi State Investment & Property Development Company Limited. Due to his outstanding performance, he was promoted to Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, a position he occupied till January 1990.
He later joined the New Africa Merchant Bank Limited where he served as Senior Manager & Bank Secretary up to May 1992. He was promoted the following month to Assistant General Manager/Bank Secretary and rose in January 1994 to General Manager/Bank Secretary, a position he occupied till April 1996.
Umar veered from banking to the industrial sector when took up job as General Manager/Chief Executive of the Cotton & Agricultural Processors Limited where he controlled eight branches with zonal offices at Zaria, Gombe and Malumfashi. A company with over 2000 personnel, he turned it around from loss-making to profitability. His first year performance recorded a profit of over N26 million for a company that hitherto operated at a loss. A great investor, he was Director of NEWDEVCO Finance Service Company Limited from 1991 to 1996 and Chairman of Yankari Insurance Company Limited from 1992 to 1999. At the return of democracy to Nigeria, he ventured into the rough terrain of politics. A human development strategist, he had looked forward to challenging opportunities to influence positively the plight of the poor. His party, the Peoples Democratic Party [POP] formed the Government in Bauchi State as well as at the centre. He became the Secretary to the State Government [SSG] from June 1999 to November 2006. As SSG, he was the Chief Adviser to the Governor, Alhaji [Dr.] Ahmadu Adamu Mu'azu (Wolin Bauchi) who was highly rated by the media for his outstanding performance, especially in the area of infrastructure. Umar's other responsibilities include coordinating the activities of all the state ministries as well as guiding the government within its stipulated programmes.
Before his appointment as the Director-General of SMEDAN, he was the POP gubernatorial flag-bearer in Bauchi State at the 2007 general elections. For Muhammad Nadada Umar, his story is yet to be told.
