Yusuf Tanko Sununu (Dr.)

About Yusuf Tanko Sununu (Dr.)

Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu is a Nigerian medical doctor, politician and former federal minister from Kebbi State. He was born on 2 February 1967 and has combined a professional career in medicine with extensive public service and political responsibilities. He is particularly associated with the Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency of Kebbi State, which he represented in the House of Representatives.

Sununu trained as a medical doctor and obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from the University of Maiduguri. He later pursued specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, as well as further qualifications in minimal access surgery. His professional affiliations have included the Nigerian Medical Association, the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria and other medical organisations.

He began his medical career at General Hospital Argungu, where he worked as a Medical Officer from 2000 to 2003. Between 2003 and 2005, he served as the personal physician to the Governor of Kebbi State at the Government House Clinic in Birnin Kebbi. He later joined the Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi, where he worked as an obstetrician and gynaecologist and headed the Laparoscopic Surgical Unit. He also served on the management boards of the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.

Sununu entered elective politics and was elected to the House of Representatives in 2019, representing the Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency. He served in the National Assembly under the All Progressives Congress (APC) and used his background in medicine and public health in his legislative activities. His first term in the House was followed by his re-election in the 2023 general elections, giving him another opportunity to represent the constituency at the federal level.

After the 2023 elections, Sununu left the National Assembly following his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Minister of State for Education in August 2023. He later served as Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction following a cabinet redeployment. In the federal executive, he was involved in government programmes and policy discussions relating to education, humanitarian assistance, poverty reduction and social development.

In March 2026, Sununu resigned from his ministerial position as he prepared to return to active electoral politics in Kebbi State. He subsequently emerged as the APC nominee for the 2027 House of Representatives election for the Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency. His return to the constituency's political contest marks a continuation of a public career that has taken him from medicine to the National Assembly and then to the federal executive branch.

Yusuf Tanko Sununu's career therefore spans several areas of public service, including medicine, legislative representation and federal executive administration. His professional experience in healthcare and his subsequent political and ministerial responsibilities have made him a prominent figure in the political affairs of Kebbi State as he seeks to return to the House of Representatives in 2027.