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Untold Story of the Gov. Mala Buni and Gumsu Abacha Wedding

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5 years ago

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By Michael Effiong

Slightly over two years after her 20 year-old marriage crashed, drop dead gorgeous Gumsu Fatima Abacha has found love again!

The second daughter of late dictator, General Sani Abacha has sent tongues wagging with her recent hush hush wedding to Yobe State Governor and Caretaker Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mai Mala Buni.

Fondly called Tutupie by family and close friends, Gumsu’s wedding has been in the realm of speculations for months until it was confirmed when a Wedding Fatiha was hosted at the home of Mohammed Abacha, the bride’s elder brother.

The soft-spoken groom is a taciturn, media-shy gentleman, who does not court attention, but marrying into the Abacha family, especially picking a glamorous and popular woman like Gumsu, was certainly bound to attract the media-and the couple, in the past few days, have become “THE NEWS”.

Despite holding a public office, Governor Buni has not said a word about the wedding and Gumsu, who is fond of posting personal milestones on her Instagram page, has not written about this latest development in her life. The the only evidence of her new status is that she has changed her instagram handle to now read: Gumsu Abacha M.M. Buni

Those who know Gumsu are surprised that she has taken another shot at matrimony especially as she may have been emotionally hurt by her previous wedding to top Cameroonian businessman and politician, Mohamadou Bayero Fadil.

That 1999 wedding was one that brought so much joy to the Abacha family because it came at the period the family was trying to come to terms with the death of their patriarch.

As expected, Bayero, who is from Garoua, Northern Cameroun and Gumsu, from Kano, Nigeria were inseparable. They were always spotted in Doula, Abuja or Kano. The couple also spent quite some time in France and Turkey.

In 2000, they took their love story an extra notch when Gumsu was delivered of a lovely baby girl at the famous American Hospital in Paris, France.

Our Sister publication, OVATION INTERNATIONAL captured that momentous moment in the Abacha family because the new baby became the family’s first grand child.

According to Ovation” Gumsu was delivered of the baby by her acclaimed doctor, Dr. Tibi Charles. Their bundle of joy arrived thirty-nine weeks into her pregnancy and ten months after their celebrated wedding.

“Gumsu said in a telephone interview with our London office “Bayero looked confused, scared and concerned because he did not want to lose me or the baby”

“He had flown in from Cameroon that very morning. He spent another four days before going back. As soon as the delivery took place, Bayero telephoned Kano and broke the news to Gumsu’s sister, Mrs Zainab Dalhatu and mum, Hajia Maryam Abacha and in-law, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu. An elated family congratulated the Fadils, one after the other.

When Hajia Maryam heard her daughter’s voice on the other end of the line she said “Congrats…Alhamdullilah”.

“Asked why Paris, Gumsu explained that France is like her husband’s second home, and he has a lot of business interests in Paris”

“Also, the Bayero family patronize American Hospital and usually stay at Le Meridien Hotel, Paris, but because of the new baby, they had to rent a service apartment.

“She ate her favourite meal of jollof rice and fried plantain and mangoes, which she brought from Cameroun. She also ate a lot of salads and drank a lot juices”

“The baby was named Maryam after her maternal grand mother and given a second name, Sultana, suggesting royalty.” After this bundle of joy arrived, the couple cemented their love with four more children.

Therefore, many where shocked when news broke that Gumsu and Bayero Fadil had parted ways due to irreconcilable differences.

Though the December 2019 divorce was not public, but the cat was let out of the bag when Gumsu changed her name on social media and Bayero also edited his Wikipedia profile.

Insiders have revealed to The Boss that though the divorce was painful, they are not bitter enemies, in fact, we gathered that the Abacha family reportedly broke the news of Gumsu’s new marriage directly to Bayero by sending him a video of the wedding ceremony.

Though we did not know how this romance began, we are told that Gumsu, 47, who is opinionated, bold and blessed with beauty and brains, has been swept off her feet and truly in love with Governor Buni ,who is in his early 50s has no qualms about being wife No.4

The Boss gathered that the love between the pair is mutual and they are also very fond of each other.

On his part, Governor Buni will be glad that he has added Gumsu to his family. Before now, he had married a third wife, Ummi Adama Geidam, daughter of the gentleman he succeeded as Yobe State Governor now Senator Ibrahim Geidam.

Many believed this marriage had a political undertone as Geidam had already indicated to all that he wanted to hand over to Buni, who was APC National Secretary at the time.

The wedding Fatiha was simple.It was an Islamic affair that was attended by friends of both families including Col. Hamid Ali, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Basheer Garba Lado, Rt Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Abdullahi Maikano.. Sheikh Daurawa among others

The union of the couple and their families was sealed with prayers coordinated by Islamic clerics.

This particular wedding can be described as the quietest event in the Abacha Household in recent memory.

Gumsu with husband, Governor Mai Mala Buni

The Abacha are not known to have subtle parties. They love celebrating their events in extra special and glamorous ways. In 2002, when Mohammed Abacha married his first wife, Fatima in Kaduna and Kano, it was a carnival.

The wedding Fathia was attended by such personalities as Former President, General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd) and wife, Maryam, Jigawa State Governor, Saminu Turaki, Senator Diasy Danjuma, Ireti Kingibe and Laila Dogonyaro among many others.

When his brother, Mahmud also got married in 2013, the wedding reception at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja was filled with celebrated Nigerians including Mrs Ajoke Murtala-Mohammed, Mrs Aisha Buhari, Prince Nasir Ado Bayero, Governor Seriake Dickson, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, and many others.

Maybe because of COVID-19 or the simple and quiet nature of the groom, the wedding ceremony of Gumsu and Governor Mala Buni did not follow this usual Abacha-style pattern, it was understated without any razzmatazz.

The Abachas in Year 2000: Zainab, Hajia Maryam, Rekiya and Gumsu

That not withstanding, we gathered that the day was successfully executed as planned, and the love birds are glad that it went well and they can now officially call each other husband and wife!

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Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

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1 day ago

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June 29, 2026

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By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

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South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

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3 days ago

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June 27, 2026

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The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

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NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

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3 days ago

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June 27, 2026

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The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.

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