Islamic clerics in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State have formally endorsed Abdullahi Umar to contest for the Federal House of Representatives seat under the Accord Party (AP), describing him as the most credible voice to represent the constituency at the National Assembly.
The endorsement was announced over the weekend during a town hall gathering of clerics in Kaduna North, where religious leaders resolved to both ‘aspire and sponsor’ Umar for the seat, citing his long-standing record of community service as the basis for their decision.
In a communique read at the end of the meeting, the council of clerics said their backing was informed by Umar’s consistent interventions in support of orphans and vulnerable families across the state.
‘We have watched him for years. He does not wait for elections to help people’, said Mallam Adam Idiris Mallamawan Falakin Zazzau, who spoke on behalf of the clerics. ‘What he is doing quietly through his foundation must be brought to a larger platform’.
Umar is the founder of the Abdullahi Umar Charity Foundation, a non-governmental organization that has been providing scholarships, school materials, and feeding support to orphans in Kaduna and neighboring communities.
According to records presented by the foundation during the meeting, more than 400 orphans have benefited from full educational sponsorship, while hundreds of widows and less privileged families currently receive monthly food support.
The clerics emphasised that their decision to back Umar was not driven by partisan politics, but by moral considerations. They argued that leadership at this time should be entrusted to individuals with proven compassion and accountability.
‘Politics in our time needs people who understand the pain of the common man’, said Imam Auwal Suleiman of Unguwan Dosa Central Mosque. ‘Abdullahi Umar has shown that he understands, and he acts’.
Speaking shortly after receiving the endorsement, Umar expressed appreciation to the clerics and pledged not to betray the confidence reposed in him if given the opportunity to serve.
‘I did not start this work for politics. I started it because I saw need around me’, Umar said. ‘If the people and the party give me the mandate, I will take the same spirit of service to Abuja’.
He added that his legislative priorities at the National Assembly would focus on education, youth empowerment, and social welfare programs, building directly on the work already being done through his foundation.
Community members who attended the meeting described the endorsement as timely, noting that Kaduna North requires a representative who is accessible and grounded in the realities of the people.
The clerics concluded the gathering by calling on residents of Kaduna North to rally behind candidates with a demonstrable record of service, stressing that such a choice remains the surest path to meaningful development for the constituency.
