On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu presented the National Assembly with a list of seven new ministerial nominees. This action followed the dismissal of six ministers from his cabinet. These ministers designate would upon confirmation by the senate, step into the roles left vacant.
Among the nominees selected are three women;
BIANCA ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, is a prominent Nigerian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and business woman. Born on the 5th of August 1968, to the former Anambra State Governor Christian Onoh and his wife Carol, Bianca, the sixth child of seven children was married to the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1994. Their union is blessed with three children; Chineme, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu.
With a rich educational background, Bianca is been said to have studied law from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, after which she proceeded to the Nigerian Law school, and was afterwards called to bar. As a beauty queen, Bianca is a multiple international pageant titleholder, having won Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Miss Africa and Miss Intercontinental. Bianca represented Nigeria at the Miss World in Hong Kong and Miss Universe in Mexico following her win.
In 2011, she was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Bianca is reportedly Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was also Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana, and ambassador of Nigeria to the Kingdom of Spain.
JUMOKE ODUWOLE
Born in Lagos state, where she completed her primary and secondary education, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, earned an LL.B. (Second Class Upper) in Law from the University of Lagos in 1998. She then pursued an LL.M. with a focus on Commercial Law at Cambridge University, England in 2000.
In 2007, Oduwole obtained a master’s degree in International Legal Studies from Stanford University, USA, and served as a Graduate Fellow at the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation (SCICN) from 2007 to 2008.
She furthered her academic career as a visiting scholar at the University of Houston Law Center, Texas, from 2008 to 2010 and earned her doctorate in International Trade and Development, with a specialization in WTO Negotiation Strategy, from Stanford Law School. Oduwole is also a former co-president of the Stanford Alumni Club of Nigeria and previously served on the executive committee of the Oxford and Cambridge (Oxbridge) Club of Nigeria.
During the Buhari administration, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole was appointed Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business in the Office of the Vice President. She also held various roles in the corporate world, both nationally and globally.
She also served as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade, and Investment (OVP) from November 2015 to May 2019, during which she played a role in establishing the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN).
As the Executive Secretary of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, with the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment as Vice Chair, Oduwole oversees the council’s secretariat. There, she coordinates policy development and business reforms aimed at making Nigeria an increasingly conducive environment for business.
In 2013, Oduwole was appointed as the 2013-2015 Prince Claus Chair holder, a visiting professorship for Development and Equity in honor of the late Prince Claus of the Netherlands, awarded by the Curatorium then chaired by H.M. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.
Oduwole was in January 2020, recognized as one of 15 exceptional women leaders from across Africa selected to join the inaugural cohort of the Amujae Initiative, the flagship program of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development. Oduwole will upon confirmation by the senate, succeed Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, who has been reassigned as the Minister of State for Finance.
SUWAIBA AHMAD
Dr Suwaiba Said Ahmad, Minister of State for Education, was born on February 13, 1981, in Jigawa State, Nigeria. She pursued her primary and secondary education at Bayero University Staff Primary and Secondary Schools.
After secondary school, Ahmad obtained a Bachelor of Science Education in Chemistry from Bayero University, Kano in 2003 and in 2009, Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum Studies from the same university.
She then proceeded to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where she bagged a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Science Education in 2014.
Dr. Ahmad has been a faculty member at Bayero University, Kano, since 2004, where she currently serves as an Associate Professor of Chemistry Education. Dr. Ahmad also serves as the Provost of the Jigawa State College of Education, where she is responsible for overseeing the training of future educators and implementing policies to enhance teacher education.
With over 18 years of experience, Ahmed is a trained educationist, a gender advocate, and distinguished academic who has spent her career focusing on improving educational standards, particularly in the areas of girl-child education, science education, and curriculum development.
Dr. Suwaiba Said Ahmad is also an author, with several published works that contribute to the understanding of education in Nigeria.
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