Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) yesterday commended President Bola Tinubu for entrusting Northerners with key positions in his administration.
Ndume who had previously accused the President of making lopsided appointments said the imbalance he had criticised in the past has now been addressed.
‘President Tinubu is someone who surrenders to constructive criticisms’, he said in a statement in Abuja.
He added: ‘I have known him to be a fair minded, cosmopolitan person. I could recall that our leaders in the North, including my humble self, who felt jolted over recent appointments into key federal positions, raised our voices, screaming against the perceived imbalances.
‘The hallmark of a good leader and statesman is to quickly adjust himself when he takes a decision or makes a policy pronouncement that a large section of the people finds unpopular and uncomfortable with.
‘President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has demonstrated several times that he is a responsive leader’.
The President approved the appointment of 22 individuals into leadership positions across various federal agencies and commissions as part of the efforts to revitalise public institutions and deepen governance reforms.
The appointees include former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim, former Katsina State governor, Ibrahim Shehu Shema, former Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, and veteran labour leader Comrade Isa Aremu.
Nnamani from Enugu State was named Chairman of the Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), former governor Shema is now Chairman of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), while Senator Anyim Pius Anyim from Ebonyi State was appointed Chairman of the National Merit Awards.
They are all expected to bring strategic oversight and political depth to their new roles, according to the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Philip Shaibu, former Deputy Governor of Edo State, was appointed Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Sport while Isa Aremu, a renowned labour activist from Kwara State, was appointed Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies.
At the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), President Tinubu approved the appointment of Yazid Shehu Umar Danfulani from Zamfara State as Managing Director.
He is to work alongside Abubakar Umar Jarengol from Adamawa State, who was named Executive Director (Operation/Technical), and Babaranti Ayandayo Rasheed from Osun State as Executive Director (Finance and Administration).
In the area of women and social development, Dr. Asabe Vilita Bashir from Borno State was appointed Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development, while Omobolanle Akinyemi-Obe from Ondo State was named Director-General of the National Senior Citizens Centre, Abuja.
The President also appointed Dr. Segun Aina from Osun State as Director-General of the Academic Staff College of Nigeria, a key institution for academic development and retraining in the tertiary education sector.
At the National Population Commission, Senator Jalo Zarami from Yobe State and Hon. Dr. Joseph Haruna Kigbu from Nasarawa State were appointed as Federal Commissioners, as part of efforts to strengthen national data systems and population planning.
From Kano State, Hamza Ibrahim Baba was appointed National Program Manager of the Government Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Program (GEEP), a federal initiative supporting small businesses and informal sector enterprises.
Abubakar Adamu from Benue State was named Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, while Mohammed Lawal Ibrahim of Kogi State and Abdullahi Mohammed of Katsina State were appointed Executive Directors (Finance/Admin) and (Monitoring and Implementation), respectively, at the Nigeria–Sao Tome Joint Development Authority.
In another strategic appointment, Senator Tijjani Yahaya Kaura from Zamfara State was named Director-General of the Centre for Citizenship and Leadership Training, an agency tasked with promoting leadership values and civic education.
Senator Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya from Katsina was appointed Chairman of the Nigerian Agricultural Land Development Authority, while Dr. Shuaibu Shehu Aliyu from Kaduna State was appointed Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education.
Professor Almustapha Alhaji Aliyu from Sokoto State, was appointed Managing Director of NNPC Gas Marketing Limited (NGML), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
