Mr Zakaria Yidana, the North East Regional Minister designate, is a Politician and the Assistant Registrar of the Tamale campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS).

He was born on October 10, 1969 at Gbimsi, a community in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region to Mr Sugri Yidana and Madam Bampunya Pepsigu.

The Minister designate is the second child of three children of his parents, and is married with two children.

Mr Yidana started his basic education at the Gbimsi Power of God Primary School from 1974 to 1980, and proceeded to the Roman Catholic Middle School from 1981 to 1982.

From 1983 to 1988, the Minister designate attended the Walewale Secondary Technical School and completed with General Certificate of Education (GCE), Ordinary Level (O' level).

In 1989, he gained admission to the Saint John Bosco College of Education in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region for a three-year Post-Secondary programme and successfully completed in 1992 with Teacher's Certificate 'A'.

While in College, he was the General Prefect from 1991 to 1992, and sat for the GCE Advanced Level (A' Level) as a private candidate in 1993.

Mr Yidana's desire to climb the educational ladder, saw him pursue Bachelor of Education in Psychology and graduated with Second Class Upper Division from the University of Cape Coast from 2000 to 2003, and undertook Master of Philosophy in Educational Administration from the same University from 2005 to 2010.

He proceeded to the Chartered Institute of Administration and Management Consultants (CIAMC) in 2015.

Mr Yidana in his professional life, taught in several schools across the country, including; the Lawra Junior Secondary School (JSS) in the Upper West Region, where he took up additional responsibility as teacher in charge of Sports from 1992 to 1996.

He returned to Gbimsi, to continue his teaching profession at the Gbimsi Suguru Roman Catholic JSS from 1996 to 1997, and proceeded to teach at the Wulugu Secondary School from 1998 to 2000.

The Minister designate, from 2003 to 2005 held the position of Headmaster at the Agoana Swedru Holy Qu'an Junior High School, and from 2007 to 2009, he was the Local Manager of the Islamic Schools at Agona West, East and the Asikuma-Odobeng-Brakwa Districts.

He headed the Nana Khadijah Islamic Girls Secondary School from 2010 to 2012, and rose to become the Assistant Registrar of Academic Affairs of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale from 2012 until his nomination as Minister designate for the North East Region by President Akufo-Addo.

By dent of hard work and diligence to duty, Mr Yidana served on several Academic and non-Academic Boards and Committees as Secretary including; serving as Secretary and Spokesperson to the Nayiri's Committee for the Creation of the North East Region.

He joined the New Patriotic Party in 2012 and worked in various capacities, and also contested the Party's primaries in 2020, but lost to Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu, the Member of Parliament for the Walewale Constituency.