Senator Abba Ali is a foremost Nigerian businessman, educator, and politician. He was a senator of the Federal Republic during the second democratic dispensation, from 1979 to 1983.

Senator Ali was born around 1940 in Katsina, and his journey into formal education started at the Katsina Central Primary School in 1953, from where he went to Katsina Middle School in 1956, then Katsina Teachers’ College for grade III training in 1961.

In 1967, Ali decided to leave the teaching profession to work for the Nigeria Tobacco Company as a management trainee in Kano and Jos. In 1969, he came back to Katsina as a distributor; then he went into business on his own.

As a dawn to his political journey, he was elected as a member of the area council when Musa Yar’adua, the father of Umaru Yar'adua, was the chairman. In the 1970s, he served as the chairman of the Katsina Local Government, and thereafter, he also served as president of the Katsina Chamber of Commerce.

In 1979, Ali contested and was elected a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the illustrious and prudent government of President Shehu Shagari; a revered position he held from 1979 to 1983.

In recognition of his unwavering devotion to his people, in 2021, the former Senator, who is currently a member of the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) was bestowed with the traditional title of Turakin Katsina by the Emir of Katsina and Chairman of the Katsina State Council of Chiefs, His Royal Highness, Alh. (Dr) Abdulmumini Kabir Usman CFR.