Tinubu swears in 3 new ministers

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday inaugurated three ministers who were recently screened and cleared by the Senate.

The brief ceremony was done before the commencement of the second Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting inside the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja.

The newly sworn-in ministers were Balarabe Abbas Lawal (Kaduna State), Dr Jamila Ibrahim-Bio (Kwara State), and Ayodele Olawande (Ondo State). Lawal is to serve as the Minister of Environment; Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Minister of Youth and Ayodele Olawande, Minister of State for Youth.

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On September 17, 2023, President Tinubu had nominated Ibrahim and Olawande as Minister of Youth and Minister of State for Youth, respectively.

He also requested the Senate to screen Balarabe Lawal as minister from Kaduna. Lawal, who served as secretary to the government under former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, replaced his principal in Tinubu’s cabinet. Ibrahim, 37, who hails from Kwara State, is a medical doctor, politician and development expert and advocate of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas; Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara; Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, were among those who witnessed the swearing-in ceremony.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, announced to the council, the demise of Nigeria’s first Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Chief Mobolaji Ajose-Adeogun, who passed on 1st of July at the age of 96 .

The late Chief Ajose-Adeogun was a two-time Federal Commissioner for Cooperatives and Supply before his appointment as the Federal Commissioner for Special Duties in charge of the Federal Capital Development Authority.

He superintended over the planning and the design of the Master Plan of Abuja during his time as the FCT Minister. He was appointed the Minister of Federal Capital in 1976 by the Murtala Mohammed military administration and served in the position till 1979. Meanwhile, the ongoing FEC meeting is also being attended by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan; and National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

Also attending the meeting are all the ministers, including Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; Health, Prof Ali Pate; Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edu; and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari.