23 federal agencies get new heads

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointments of new heads of 23 federal agencies.

A statement yesterday by the Director Press Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) Bolaji Adebiyi said the appointments take immediate effect.

Those appointed are Barrister Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General National Agency for the  

Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP); Barrister Mary Ikpere-Eta, Director-General, National Centre for Women Development (NCWD); Bayo Somefun, Managing Director Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) with Tijjani Suleiman, Mr. Jasper Azuatalam and Kemi Nelson as Executive Directors in the NSITF.

Also appointed are Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa as the Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank (FMB), with Melvin Eboh as Executive Director Org. Resourcing; Hajiya Rahimatu Aliyu, Executive Director Loans Department, Securities Issuance and Market Development and Umaru Abdullahi Dankane, Executive Director Policy and Strategy Loans Set-Up and Pay Off.

Other appointments are Alex Okoh, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE); Abdulkadir Saidu Umar Executive Secretary Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA); Ibrahim Musa Goni Conservator-General/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) National Park Service (NPS) and Nnenna A. Akajemeli National Coordinator/CEO, Service Compact (SERVICOM).

Others are Dr. Nasiru Mohammed Ladan Director, General National Directorate of Employment (NDE); Saliu Dada Alabi Director General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS); Professor Jef T. Barminas, Director General National Research Institute for Chemical Technology; Dr. Haruna Yerima, Director General, Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER); Sunday Thomas Deputy Commissioner Nigeria Insurance Commission (NAICOM); Tunde Erukera Executive Secretary Consumer Protection Council (CPP) and Barr. Mohammed Bello Tukur, Secretary, Federal Character Commission (FCC).

Also appointed are Dikko Aliyu Abdulrahman, Director-General (Subject to Senate Confirmation) of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) with Funso Doherty as Chairman, while the quartet of Akin Akinwale, Abubakar Zaki Magawata, Ben Oviosun and Nyerere Ayim are appointed Executive Commissioners PENCOM.

Engineer Umar Gambo Jibrin is appointed Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA); Mrs. Folashade Joseph, Managing Director Nigeria Agriculture Insurance Corporation (NAICO); and Cecilia Umaru Gaya Director General Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON).

The rest are Mrs. Luci Ajayi Executive Secretary Lagos International Trade Fair Management Board; Barrister Emmanuel Jimme Managing Director Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA); Lanre Gbajabiamila, Director General Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission; and Jelani Aliyu Director General, Nigeria Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC).  

Profiles of new appointees

Aliyu Dikko, new PENCOM DG, was the pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Premium Pension Limited (PPL) until he retired in 2011 and was almost immediately elected as the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Company. Before becoming the MD/CEO of PPL, Mr.Dikko was the Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) until May 10, 2005, when he voluntarily disengaged from the services of the bank to pursue private initiatives. Dikko was at various times during his tenure at UBA, the Chairman of the Board of UBA Capital and Trust Ltd and UBA Securities Ltd. He was also the Executive Director Treasury and Consumer Banking, Commercial and Investment Banking and the Deputy Managing Director before he was appointed the Managing Director and CEO of the bank.

Mr.Dikko started his banking career with Icon Ltd (Merchant Bankers), a former affiliate of the USA based Morgan Guaranty Trust. He joined Icon as an officer in Credit and Marketing Department after a first degree in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria and a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Manchester, England. AliyuDikko left Icon Merchant Bank as Senior Manager and Area Manager, Kaduna Area Office after spending nine years with the bank. Mr Dikko joined the newly established Urban Development Bank Plc from Icon Merchant Bank as the Controller Banking and Finance. After working for a period of two & half years with the Urban Development Bank, Mr.Dikko joined UBA where he progressed from the position of Deputy General Manager to become the Managing Director within the span of about ten years.

Alex Akoh of BPE is the Managing Partner of Ashford & McGuire Consulting. He has functioned in a variety of roles including corporate banking, operations and treasury, often leading projects and initiating and designing processes. He was Managing Director/CEO of NNB International Bank Plc from 2001 to 2006.He is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme. He has also acquired international working exposure through programmes with Citibank New York, Fidelity Bank London, Swiss Banking Corporation Zurich and Grindlays Bank, Zimbabwe. His former employers include Nigeria International Bank Limited (Citibank), United Bank for Africa Plc, Stanbic Bank Limited (then Grindlays and Merchant Bank of Africa Limited.He studied Sociology at the University of Benin and holds a Master’s degree in Banking & Finance from the University of Ibadan.

Barrister Julie Okah-Donli was born on the 30th day of December 1966. She obtained her Bachelor of Law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and won the best prize for the annual Dean’s moot court competition in 1990. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1992. She has interest in diverse areas of practice but not limited to Arbitration, Company and Corporate Law. She has worked with reputable firms such as Anthony Igbene& Co. S. O Ajayi as an Associate from 1996 – 2002 and on to the corporate organisations the Securities and Exchange Commission from July 1, 2002 to October 2, 2005 as a Manager in the Secretariat and Legal Administrative Department. She was appointed Legal Adviser/Company Secretary of the Nigerian Capital Market Institute, an affiliate of the Securities and Exchange Commission Abuja from June 2005 – October 2, 2005. In October 2005 she resigned and went into private practice, Legal Field and Co. She later moved on to UBA Trustees, Abuja where she headed the Abuja branch and Northern Region from October 3, 2006 till August 1, 2007. In August 2007, she was appointed as the Executive Assistant to the Bayelsa State Governor, Government House until September 2012. She worked as Deputy Head of Chambers with Legal Resources Alliance from November 2012 – May 2013 when she left to set up her practice. She is the Principal Partner of Julie Okah& Co a firm of Legal Practitioners where she currently practices and is also the founder of The Julie Donli Kidney Foundation. 

Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila started his education at Mainland preparatory primary school, Surulere and attended Igbobi College, Lagos for his secondary school education where he obtained his school certificate in 1982. He proceeded to King Williams College, Isle of Man for his “A” levels in1984.In 1997 he graduated with B.SC (Hons) degree in Marketing from California StateUniversity, USA and obtained a certification in Unix Programming from the prestigious ‘Seale Group’, Atlanta Georgia in 1999.Mr.Gbajabiamila started his career with Derivion/Metavante Corporation in 1997 as a Senior Analyst. He also worked as Senior Consultant in several blue chip companies inUnited States of America USA.Upon return to Nigeria in 2004, he joined the gaming company- National Sports Lottery(NSL) as Senior IT Manager on Software Quality Assurance. Among other projects pioneered for NSL is the deployment of Essnet Lottery Operating System (ELOS) whicheffectively managed 5 million lottery transactions weekly. In 2006 he returned to USA to consult briefly for Bearing Point INC, Atlanta as Senior Management Consultant.

He is a former General Manager/ Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Lotteries Board.

Jelani Aliyu was born in Kaduna to parents originally from Sokoto State, he began his A-levels in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, but later dropped out and enrolled in the Birnin Kebbi Polytechnic, Kebbi State, bagging an OND in Architecture in 1988. He proceeded to study Transportation Design in Detroit, at the College for Creative Studies on a Sokoto State Government scholarship and as soon as he graduated, he was snapped up by General Motors, the world’s second largest car manufacturer. With all his career successes – which include working on many successful models including the stunning Pontiac G6, as well as a national award as Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in Nigeria in 2012 – he is hoping all the attention he’s getting will inspire other Nigerians to pursue their dreams.

Dr HarunaYerima, the newly appointed director general of Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), teaches Public Policy Analysis at the Department of Public Administration in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

From 2003 – 2007, he represented Biu, Kwaya, Shani and Bayo federal constituency at the House of Representatives member.

He was the whistle-blower lawmaker who exposed how a telecommunications company, MTN was providing N10,000 and N7000 recharge cards each to Senators and House of Representatives members every months.

He was also a delegate to the National Conference convoked by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014. He’s a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He has been an associate of President MuhammaduBuhari since 2002 when the president joined partisan politics.

He has been a leading member of The Buhari Organisation (TBO). He was at the All Peoples Party of Nigeria (ANPP), the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC). He was a member of the merger committee that gave birth to APC.

Born in Biu, Borno State, in 1959, Yerima was educated at the Bayero University, Kano where he obtained a degree in English and Political Science. He obtained masters and doctoral degrees in Political Science from University of Maiduguri, Borno State.He thought English Literature at the Ramat Polytechnic, Borno state; and later Development Administration at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna.