ABUJA President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment, yesterday,
of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, his Chief of Staff and
four others was greeted by angry reactions as some described it as lopsided and
sectional. Same sentiments
were expressed with the president’s earlier appointments.
President Buhari, appointed, his longtime political
associate, Engr. David Lawal as Secretary to the Government of the Federation
and former banker, Alhaji Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff.
The appointments went against the grain of political
permutations which had seen some key political figures being mentioned as
likely appointees to the coveted offices.
Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), who had acted as chief of staff to
Buhari in his private capacity and as presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, was named Comptroller-General of Customs in a
key indication of the President’s yet-to-be unveiled agenda for the service.
Ali was a former military administrator of Kaduna State, and was in the
Military Police as a soldier before his retirement.
Also appointed, yesterday, were Mr. Kure Martin Abeshi as
Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service; Senator Ita Enang as
Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate)
and Hon. Suleiman Kawu as Senior Special Assistant to the President on National
Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).
The appointments which were announced by Mr. Femi Adesina,
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity were with immediate
effect.
Profile of new appointees
Lawal, the new SGF hails from Hong Local Government Area,
Adamawa State. He graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979
with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, and worked with the Delta Steel
Company, Aladja, Nigerian External Telecommunications Limited and Data
Sciences Limited before establishing his ICT and Telecommunications consulting
firm in 1990.
He is also a member of the Nigeria Computer Society, the Nigeria Society of Engineers and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.
Lawal is the national vice-chairman, north-east of the APC and
is one of the closest associates of the president. He was helpful in mobilising
support for the President and ensuring key victories for him in the north-east
especially in Adamawa State.
As a pastor, he was also helpful in winning support for the
President among the Christian population in the north.
Chief of Staff, Kyari
Alhaji Abba Kyari, the new Chief of Staff to the President,
holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Law and Sociology from the University
of Cambridge and the University of Warwick. He worked with the New Nigeria
Development Company, New Africa Holdings, African International Bank, United
Bank for Africa, Unilever, and Mobil in various capacities over the years. He
hails from Borno State in the north-east of the country.
Ali, Customs CG
The new Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Ali holds
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Criminology. He was military
administrator of Kaduna State.
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