BY BAMIDELE FAMOOFO
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja swore in six new Permanent Secretaries, before presiding over the meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Council Chamber of State House.
The swearing-in which took place from 10:05 – 10:30 am came shortly before the commencement of this week’s FEC meeting.
The appointees and their states of origin are: Mahmud Kambari (Borno State), Esuabana Nko-Asanye (Cross River), Lamuwa Ibrahim (Gombe), (Yakubu Kofar-Mata (Kano), Oloruntola Michael (Ogun) and Richard Pheelangwah (Taraba State).
While reading the citation of the new officers, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the event marked the culmination of a week-long prequalification exercise for directors by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
“Mr. President, six persons have fulfilled the conditions as permanent secretaries after a selection exercise recently conducted for directors,” Adesina said.
On March 29, 2023, the Head of Civil of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, announced that the President approved the appointment of the six permanent secretaries in the Federal Civil Service following the recently conducted selection process.
Afterwards, the FEC meeting began in earnest with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Head of Civil Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan, the President’s Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.) in attendance.
Also present were the Ministers of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Science and Technology, Olorunimbe Mamora; Finance, Zainab Ahmed; Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo; Agriculture, Mohammed Abubakar; Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; Information, Lai Mohammed; Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite; Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; Sports, Sunday Dare, amongst others.
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, is away in the United States of America where he delivered a special lecture at the University of Pennsylvania advocating a just energy transition for Africa in the light of Climate Change.
He is expected back in Abuja later on Wednesday.
Since the inception of the administration on May 29, 2015, President Buhari has sworn-in 92 Federal Permanent Secretaries.
Mahmud Kambari
A brief citation on Kambari, stated that he was born on September 22, 1967 in Kambari, Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.
He attended Tudun Wada Primary School, Potiskum, Yobe State and proceeded to Government Day Secondary School, Potiskum, where he obtained his General Certificate of Education in 1985.
He holds a BSC in Accountancy from the University of Maiduguri, and an MBA in Finance from the same university.
He joined Borno Radio Television Corporation in 1992 as an Accountant and rose through the ranks in the Borno Civil Service to become Chief Accountant at Borno State Pensions Board, from 2003 to 2006.
During his service, he won the award of “The Best Accountant in the State for The Year 2002” signed by the Executive Governor.
In the year 2006, he transferred his service to the Federal Civil Service as an Assistant Chief Accountant and rose through the ranks to the position of a Director in 2018.
He is a Fellow of Certified National Accountant (FCNA), Fellow, Institute of Industrial and Corporate Administrators of Nigeria (FICA) and Fellow Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC).
Nko-Asaye Esuabana
Similarly, Esuabana, who was born on March 31, 1968 in Asang Eniong, Cross River State, attended Offot Jubilee Primary School and Cornelia Connelly College in the state.
She holds a BA in African Studies from the University of Port Harcourt and Master’s Degree in Visual Arts from the University of Ibadan.
Mrs. Esuabana also attended Maastricht School of Management, University of Maastricht in The Netherlands.
She started her Civil Service career with the Ministry of Mines and Steel in 1996 and has since worked in different capacities across the Federal Civil Service, with staff welfare and capacity development at the core of her staff engagement.
Adamu Lamuwa
Ambassador Lamuwa, who was born on March 15, 1967, in Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State, attended Government Secondary School, Nafada, Gombe State.
He holds a BSC in Economics from the University of Maiduguri and a Master’s Degree in Economic Policy and Management from the United Nations Institute for African Economic Development and Planning (UN-IDEP), Dakar, Senegal.
Ambassador Lamuwa started his career as a Foreign Service Officer in January 1993 and has served in various departments of the Ministry at its Headquarters including; Trade and Investment Division, Training and Staff Welfare Division, African Affairs Division, Planning, Research and Statistics Department and Second United Nations Division (SUND).
Similarly, he has served in the Consulate General of Nigeria in Hong Kong, Nigerian High Commission, Ottawa, Canada, as well as the Consulate General of Nigeria in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He also worked in various capacities in the State House, Presidential Villa, as Special Assistant to the Principal Secretary to the President in 2009 and as Deputy Director, State House Protocol.
From June 2016 to May 2021, Ambassador Lamuwa was Charge d’ Affaires (et) at the Nigerian Embassy in Damascus, Syria.
From there, he was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Senegal with concurrent accreditation to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania from where he sat for, passed the examination and got appointed as a Permanent Secretary.
He has received various letters of commendation from two former Chiefs of Staff to the President, late Abba Kyari and Chief Mike Oghiadomhe as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama, attesting to Lamuwa’s “outstanding accomplishment as well as his enviable and unblemished record in the service of Nigeria.”
Adam Kofarmata
Kofarmata Yakubu, who was born on March 15, 1966 in the Municipal Local Government Area of Kano State, attended Kofar Nasarawa Primary School in 1979 and proceeded to Rumfa College Kano where he obtained the General Certificate in Education (GCE) in 1984.
Yakubu holds a Ph.D in International Relations from the University of Abuja, Masters Degrees in Banking and Finance as well as International Affairs and Diplomacy from Bayero University Kano and Ahmadu Bello University respectively, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Bayero University, Kano.
Yakubu started work in 1990 with the defunct Allied Bank of Nigeria Plc. in Yola as Officer Trainee and later joined the then Commerce Bank of Nigeria for four years.
He voluntarily left the banking sector for the Federal Civil Service where he started his career as a Senior Administrative Officer in 1996.
In the course of the career, he has served in various capacities in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), rising to the position of Director in 2018.
Olufemi Oloruntola
Oloruntola, who hails from Fowoseje, Imobi-Ijebu, Ogun State, was born in Ebute-Meta, Lagos on February 6, 1967.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography and Regional Planning from the then Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye and a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Ibadan.
Oloruntola joined the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in December 1990 as Town Planning Officer I.
He worked on several Multilateral Urban Infrastructural and Development Projects of the Ministry in States across all the geo-political zones of the country between 1990 and 2010. He is a registered Town Planner. In 1997 he was awarded the Ministry’s Certificate of Merit.
Oloruntola was a Deputy Director in the Procurement Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment from 2010-2015. He was the Procurement Specialist of the Federal Project Coordinating Unit (FPCU) on the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).
The Town Planner, who until his appointment was Director of Housing and Urban Development, is a recipient of the Federal Civil Service Presidential Merit Award 2019.
Richard Pheelangwah
Pheelangwah, who was born on April 21, 1967 in Jen, Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State, attended Ahmadu Bello University Zaria where he graduated with a Bachelor and Master of Arts Degrees in English Language.
He started his career in the Federal Civil Service in April 1996 as an Administrative Officer I in the Ministry of Solid Minerals. He has also worked in the Ministries of Health, Aviation, Education, Office of the First Lady, as well as the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
He was promoted Director in 2021.
