Mallam Mas’ud Umar, the Executive Chairman of Zaki Local Government Area in Bauchi State, has been killed in a traffic crash on the Bauchi-Maiduguri Federal Highway.
Umar was said to have died at roughly 7:30 p.m. on Sunday near Konkiyal in Darazo Local Government Area while travelling back to Zaki. He had attended a stakeholders’ gathering of the Allied People’s Movement, APM, chaired by Bauchi State Governor and the party’s national leader, Senator Bala Mohammed.
The death has prompted widespread mourning across Bauchi State’s political and public-administration community, with the impact particularly felt in Zaki Local Government Area.
In a condolence message, Governor Mohammed said he was shocked by the accident and portrayed the late council chief as a committed public official, an active grassroots politician and a caring leader.
A statement released on Monday by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mukhtar Gidado, said Umar had made lasting contributions to government service and community advancement in the state.
Before becoming chairman of Zaki council, Umar served as Director-General of the Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA. In that role, he was involved in emergency operations, disaster-response work and humanitarian assistance.
The governor said Umar had also focused on local development, including programmes aimed at empowering young people and women and raising living standards for residents of Zaki Local Government Area.
Although he spent only a limited period as council chairman, Umar was distinguished by his service-driven approach, accessibility and concern for the wellbeing of the people he represented, Mohammed said.
The governor described the fatal accident as a significant loss for Umar’s relatives, Zaki Local Government Area and Bauchi State as a whole, especially for public-sector and local-government administration.
Mohammed offered condolences to the deceased’s family, residents of Zaki, the Katagum Emirate Council, the Bauchi State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, and Umar’s political allies.
He prayed that Almighty Allah would pardon Umar’s shortcomings and grant him Aljannatul Firdaus.
Funeral prayers for the late chairman are due to take place at 2 p.m. on November 2, 2026, at the Palace of the District Head in Mur Mur, Zaki Local Government Area.
