Audu Idris Umar

Audu Idris Umar (born 28 December 1959) was elected Senator for the Gombe Central constituency of Gombe State, Nigeria, taking office on 29 May 2007. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).^[1]

Umar was born on 28 December 1959. He obtained a bachelor's degree In Law, and became a Barrister At Law. He was appointed State Counsel to the Ministry Of Justice, Bauchi. Umar was elected to the House Of Representatives in 1999, and was reelected in 2003. After taking his seat in the Senate for the 2007–2011 term, Umar was appointed to committees on Air Force (as chairman), Federal Capital Territory, Finance and Judiciary and Human Rights & Legal Matters.^[1] In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay said only that he had no bill to his credit in past but had sponsored and co-sponsored motions.^[2]

As chairman of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Food Crisis, Umar visited the controversial Kafin Zaki Dam site in April 2009 and endorsed the dam's construction. However, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan of Yobe North called on the committee to visit downstream users of the Jama'are River before taking a position.^[3] In August 2009 Senator Lawan spoke against the proposed dam. He stated that the Tiga and Challawa dams on the Hadejia River had already reduced downstream water flow drastically, and the Jama'are River was now the main source of water in the Yobe River. He said the dams caused intense poverty, increased desert encroachment, migration and conflicts between arable farmers and herdsmen.^[4]

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