Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Chairman of Fufore Local Government Area in Adamawa State, Dr Yahya Saidu, has died less than three months after taking office, throwing the council area into mourning and prompting sober reflections on the fragility of power in a local government that has now lost two sitting chairmen in less than two years.
Saidu, who was sworn in as council chairman on July 15, 2026, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, died in the early hours of Friday, October 9, 2026, in a hospital in Kaduna. The Information Officer of the Council, Ahmed B. Yusha’u, disclosed the death in a statement made available to journalists on Saturday in Yola, saying the chairman died after a brief illness. He had been in office for less than three months.
The Adamawa State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria announced the death in a statement on Saturday, expressing grief over his passing. The State ALGON Chairman, Titus Obadiah, described Saidu as a dedicated leader whose service to Fufore and Adamawa State would be greatly missed. “With a heavy heart and total submission to the will of Almighty God, I received the sad news of the passing of the executive chairman of Fufore Local Government Area, Dr Yahaya Saidu,” Obadiah said. “Dr Yahaya Saidu was a committed leader who gave his best in service to his people. My heart goes out to his family, friends, associates and the good people of Fufore Local Government Area during this very difficult time.” He prayed for strength and comfort for Saidu’s family and the people of Fufore.
The member representing Fufore/Song Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Aliyu Boya Wakili, also confirmed the death in a condolence statement issued on Saturday and shared on Facebook. He described Saidu as a dedicated public servant and said his demise was an irreparable loss to the people of Fufore and Adamawa State. “His passing is a great loss to the people of Fufore and Adamawa State at large,” Wakili stated. “May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings, accept his good deeds, grant him Aljannatul Firdaus, and grant his family, friends, associates, and the entire people of Fufore the strength and patience to bear this irreparable loss.”
The death has sparked profound reflection across the state, coming just 18 months after the tragic passing of Saidu’s predecessor, Shuaibu Babas, who died in office on April 23, 2025. Babas, who was also elected on the PDP platform, had been sworn in in July 2024 and served for approximately nine months before his death. His passing triggered controversy over the succession process in Fufore, as his deputy, Esther Audu, was not immediately sworn in as his successor. Her delayed inauguration sparked protests, with residents questioning whether her gender or Christian faith had influenced the decision to withhold her swearing-in. After about two weeks of protests and public outcry, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri eventually swore in Audu as the council’s substantive chairman. Audu served until the 2026 local government elections, when Saidu emerged as the PDP flagbearer and was subsequently elected.
A political commentator in the state, Abu-Taqiyah Zumo, noted the striking tragedy of the local government council losing two sitting chairmen in such rapid succession. “The deaths of Hon. Babas and Hon. Yaya Saidu — both Chairmen of the same Fufore Local Government, one after the other — are a coincidence that is not just shocking, but brutally sobering,” Zumo said. “It forces a deep reflection on the fleeting nature of power and life itself. The same exalted seat, the same office, the same title, now twice turned into a mourning ground. It reminds us that the chair remains, but the occupant is gone; that power is transient, life is fragile, and death is no respecter of position or ambition. Today you are called ‘Executive Chairman’ and tomorrow you are called ‘late.’ Indeed, we came with nothing, we will leave with nothing, and what will speak for us at the end is not the title we held, but the lives we touched.”
The Chairman of the Adamawa State chapter of the ALGON, Titus Obadiah, extended his condolences to the bereaved family, the government and the people of Fufore Local Government Area. A Senior Special Assistant on Security to Governor Fintiri, Hon Ahmad Lawan, also expressed grief over the demise of the council chairman, condoling with his family and the people of Fufore. Other political associates and community leaders across the state have continued to send tributes and prayers for the late chairman and his grieving family.
Burial arrangements were yet to be announced by the family as of the time of filing reports on Saturday morning. Governor Fintiri is expected to attend the funeral prayers, as he did for the late Shuaibu Babas in April 2025, when he joined hundreds of mourners at the Jimeta Central Mosque and praised the late chairman for his commitment to public service, grassroots development and loyalty to the state government’s agenda.
The political context of the death is significant. The 2027 general elections are less than four months away, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6. Adamawa State, like the rest of Nigeria, is in the midst of political activity, and the death of a sitting local government chairman will have implications for the administration of the council area in the coming months. The local government will now need to navigate the succession process, which under the law would ordinarily see the deputy chairman assume office. The coming days will determine how the state government handles the transition and whether the lessons from the previous succession controversy are applied to ensure a smooth and lawful handover.
For the people of Fufore, the loss of two chairmen in less than two years is a painful and unsettling experience. Fufore is one of the largest local government areas in Adamawa State by landmass and has historically been a flashpoint for communal tensions and security challenges. The continuity of leadership in the council area is therefore a matter of practical importance as well as symbolic significance. For the family of Dr Yahya Saidu, the grief is personal and profound. For the state government, the death is a reminder of the fragility of life and the need for robust succession arrangements at all levels of governance.
As Zumo put it, the chair remains, but the occupant is gone. The same exalted seat, the same office, the same title, now twice turned into a mourning ground. The coming weeks will determine who assumes the chair for the remainder of the tenure, and whether the people of Fufore can find stability after a period of repeated loss.
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