The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has approved the appointments of Dr. Otive Igbuzor as his Chief of Staff and Mr. Yomi Odunuga as Special Adviser, Media and Publicity.
He also announced the appointment of Mrs. Lara Owoeye-Wise as Senior Special Assistant on Electronic and New Media.
In a statement he personally issued on Thursday, Senator Omo-Agege, explained that the appointments, which take effect immediately, were based on merit.
The Chief of Staff, Dr. Igbuzor, is a versatile writer, researcher and author of several publications; and also the founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD).
A former lecturer at the Delta State University, Lagos Centre, he has published many scholarly articles on democracy, gender, politics and development.
He was once the International Head of campaigns of ActionAid International and Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria and was a Commissioner in the Police Service Commission (PSC).
Besides, he was a Programme Co-ordinator of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), an independent research, information and training institution dedicated to policy oriented scholarship on questions of democratic development and peace building in the West African sub-region.
Meanwhile, until his appointment, Odunuga is the Abuja Bureau Chief and Deputy Editor of The Nation newspapers.
Born on June 2, 1966, Odunuga a poet, lyricist, reporter and columnist, started his journalism career with the PUNCH newspaper over two decades ago.
The 1990 best graduating student of the then Olabisi Onabanjo State University has attended several journalism courses in Nigeria and outside the country.
His insightful and critical analysis of the intriguing politics of that period earned him accolades and recognition which later saw him being promoted to the position of Abuja Bureau Chief at the PUNCH newspaper.
In 2006, he was elevated to the position of Group Political Editor of The PUNCH, before joining The Nation newspaper as an Assistant Editor and Bureau Chief in Abuja.
For several years, he was State House Correspondent and authored two columns – ‘Life in Abuja’ and the popular weekend treat called ‘Inside Aso Rock’.
At The Nation, his rested PUNCH newspaper column, Knuckles transformed into Knucklehead which offers him the opportunity to continue his weekly interrogation and critique of the socio-political developments in the polity.
The widely-travelled journalist is married to Toyosi Odunuga and the couple is blessed with children.
Similarly, a graduate of Religion and philosophy from the University of Jos, Plateau State, Owoeye-Wise is a multiple award winning journalist whose experience has spanned over two decades and has spread between the print and the electronic media.
She has worked at The Punch Newspapers, The News Magazine, AM News and Tempo tabloids.
She crossed over to the electronic media as a pioneer staff for Silverbird TV, a pioneer staff of the resuscitated Minaj Broadcast International, MBI, and was Deputy Head of Presentation, Senior News Editor, news anchor and chief correspondent at Africa Independent Television, AIT before her appointment as Senior Assistant, Media to the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Lara has had a working stint with the Voice of American, Washington DC and KSTP Channel 5, Minnesota.
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