By - Editor-in-Chief
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DHUSAMAREB, Nov 5, 2026 Liibaan Ahmed Hassan has formally taken over the leadership of Somalia’s Galmudug State after former president Ahmed Abdi Kaariye handed over power. Liibaan’s inauguration ceremony is expected on Thursday.
Kaariye, who led Galmudug for 2,467 days from Feb. 2, 2020, said he had handed Liibaan a united administration.
“I have handed over to you a Galmudug that is socially and economically united,” Kaariye said. “I have handed over to you a Galmudug that we can say is free of the faults, mistakes or problems of Somalia.”
He said he had handed over the state’s agreement with the company that runs its airport, as well as road projects. Some of these have been completed, such as the roads linking the state capital with Adado and Guriel, while others are due to begin, including in Adado, Galkayo, Hobyo and Abudwak.
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Kaariye urged Galmudug’s people, wherever they are, to “stand with and fully work with” the new administration led by Liibaan.
He also thanked the armed forces, saying no security incidents had occurred in Galmudug during the four months of campaigning and elections.
Liibaan, a member of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP), was elected Galmudug leader on Oct. 22, winning 72 of 89 votes cast by state lawmakers. His rival, Abdulkadir Abdullahi Diriye of the Sincad organisation, received 14 votes.
That vote came after Somalia’s Supreme Court annulled Galmudug’s July 30 election, leading to a rerun on Sept. 30.