In 1973, he joined AEK, a consultancy firm, where he was Project Manager for construction of Durbar Hotel and Murtala Mohammed Square, Kaduna.

He enrolled in the Nigerian Law School, Lagos where he obtained his BL and was called to the Bar as a solicitor and Advocate of Supreme Court of Nigeria in December 1993.

[4] During the 1999 Nasarawa State gubernatorial election, Abdullahi Adamu ran successfully for position of governor on the PDP platform.

[5] Adamu promised to make Nasarawa famous with the State's solid mineral natural resources and tourist attractions such as the Farin Ruwa wamba Waterfalls and the flowing Eggon hills.

In November 2009, a group of prominent PDP members stated that they would support his candidacy in the 2011 elections for the Nasarawa West Senate constituency.

[9] In Feb 2010, Adamu was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly embezzling $100 million of government money meant for public projects.