Early life and education
Zakari Mohammed was born on 7 July 1970 and hails from Gure in Baruten Local Government Area, in the Kwara North Senatorial District. His father, Lafia Mohammed, was an educationist of royal lineage, and learning was valued at home from the start.
After his West African School Certificate at Borgu Secondary School, New Bussa, he went on to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the International Institute of Journalism and the University of Ilorin, earning diplomas in Civil Law and Journalism, a degree in Sociology and Anthropology and a Master's degree in Criminology.
The newsroom
His public career began in broadcasting. Over ten years at the Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation, on Radio Kwara and Kwara TV, he rose from assistant producer to senior reporter and Government House producer, and presented and produced sports programmes.
The newsroom taught him editorial judgment, crisis communication and how to listen to ordinary people. In 2002 he left broadcasting to pursue active politics.
The cabinet
He served as Special Assistant on Sports Matters to the Executive Governor of Kwara State and, at the same time, as Sole Administrator of Kwara United, guiding the club to a continental ticket. He was then appointed Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, and later Commissioner for Energy.
- Well over 300 rural communities connected to the national grid.
- More than 1,000 transformers installed or replaced across the state.
- Supervised Kwara's completion of the abandoned federal NIPP power project, commissioned by the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.
The National Assembly
In 2011 he was elected to the House of Representatives for Baruten/Kaiama Federal Constituency, and re-elected in 2015. As a first-term member in the 7th Assembly he was chosen as Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, speaking for all 360 members of the House.
In the 8th Assembly he chaired the House Committee on Basic Education and Services and the Ad-Hoc Committee investigating oil swap agreements.
- Sponsored the National e-Library Bill.
- Raised motions on AMCON debt recovery and probed abuses of expatriate quotas.
- Backed extending the retirement age of teachers and lecturers from 60 to 65.
- Oversaw 75+ classroom blocks and established a Federal Government girls' secondary school, with hostels and staff quarters, in Okuta.
The academy
His scholarship runs alongside his service. He holds a certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Emerging Leaders programme and is completing a PhD in Defence and Security Studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy, preparing him to meet Kwara's security challenges with evidence as well as experience.
The 2027 candidacy
In May 2026, as the sole governorship aspirant of the African Democratic Congress in Kwara State, he was adopted as the party's consensus candidate and polled 18,860 votes in the direct primary held to formalise it. He has pledged a campaign against godfatherism and imposed leadership, with the people at the centre of government.
He also holds the traditional title of Lafia Yeruma of Kpelle Kingdom.