Mohammed Goni

Alhaji Mohammed Goni was a civil servant who was Governor of Borno State, Nigeria (1979–1983) in the Nigerian Second Republic.

Background

Mohammed Goni was born in 1942 in Kareto, Mobbar Local Government Area, Borno State, Nigeria. He attended Maiduguri Middle School (1953–55), Borno Provincial Secondary School (1956–61), Provincial Secondary School, Kano (1962–63) and the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1964–87), where he gained a BA (Administration), specialising in international affairs.

In 1977, he transferred to the Nigerian National Supply Company. He was also part of the Progressives Coalition led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Goni founded the Borno Radio Television (BRTV) to counter the propaganda which was being pumped out of the Federal Government owned and sponsored Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). In retrospect, his period of office was considered one of achievement when compared with his successors.

Before the 1983 elections, Goni transferred to the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), running unsuccessfully for reelection against the Nigerian People's Party (NPP) candidate Sheikh Jarma. In the case of Federal Electoral Commission v Alhadji Mohammed Goni (1983), the Supreme Court of Nigeria condemned cross-carpeting by political officeholders.

Later career

Mohammed Goni was a member of the committee that drafted the 1995 Constitution.