The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has sent the names of 11 nominees for appointment as commissioners with their expected portfolios to the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
The governor’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement, said the governor would subsequently forward three more nominees to make up the 14 commissioners that will constitute the Kaduna State Executive Council.
The statement said that upon confirmation by the legislature, the commissioners would run the 14 ministries created in the June 2019 Executive Order.
The statement explained, “Malam Nasir El-Rufai nominated 11 persons for appointment as commissioners. The names of this first batch of 11 nominees has been forwarded to the Kaduna State House of Assembly. The second batch of nominees will subsequently be forwarded for the consideration of the legislature.
“All the 11 nominees served in various positions in the first-term of the government. Picking insiders is a deliberate decision to enable the nominees hit the ground running and assist the government to achieve its targets for the second term. Every appointee will be subjected to stronger monitoring based on clear terms of reference and key performance indicators.”
The statement said the first batch of 11 nominees for and their proposed portfolios are: Ja’afaru Ibrahim SaniMinistry of Local Government Affairs, Idris Samaila NyamMinistry of Business, Innovation & Technology and Shehu Usman Makarfi Ministry of Education.
Others according to the statement are: Ibrahim Garba Hussaini Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources, Kabir Muhammad Mato Ministry of Sports Development, Balaraba Aliyu-Inuwa Ministry of Public Works & Infrastructure and Samuel Peter Aruwan Ministry of Internal Security & Home Affairs.
The rest according to the statement are: Fausat Adebola Ibikunle Ministry of Housing & Urban Development,
Mohammed Bashir SaiduMinistry of Finance, Hafsat Mohammed Baba Ministry of Human Services & Social Development and Aisha Dikko Ministry of Justice.
It said the nominations for the commissioners of Agriculture, Health and Planning & Budget will be forwarded in the second batch.
The statement explained that Ja’afaru Ibrahim Sani served as commissioner in the ministries of Local Government and Education in the first-term. Prior to joining the Kaduna State Executive Council, he was Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs.
ldris Samaila Nyam, the statement added, is the current Accountant-General of the State, explaining that he has served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
The statement said Shehu Usman Makarfi is the current Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health while Ibrahim Garba Hussaini is the pioneer Director-General of the Kaduna State Geographic Information Service (KADGIS).
lt explained that Kabir Muhammad Mato, a professor of Political Science, has served as commissioner of Agriculture and Local Government, saying that he joined the government as Special Adviser, Inter-Governmental Relations.
The statement added, “Balaraba Aliyu-Inuwa is the immediate past Commissioner of Works, the first woman in Kaduna State to be appointed to that role. She has served as Special Adviser and subsequently Commissioner for Rural & Community Development.
“Samuel Peter Aruwan is Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) and spokesperson for the state government. He was campaign spokesman in 2015 and 2019. He has been an active member of the Kaduna State Security Council since May 2015.
“Fausat Adebola Ibikunle is the General Manager of the Kaduna State Urban Planning & Development Authority (KASUPDA). Born in Doka district of Kaduna, she studied Architecture at the Ahmadu Belo University, Zaria, and graduated in 1983. She worked with the Ministry of Defence from 1984, until she moved to the Federal Capital Development Authority as Assistant Director in 2005 in the Public Buildings Department. In 2007, she rose to become Deputy Director in Health & Human Services Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory Administration. She joined the Kaduna State Government in 2016.
“Mohammed Bashir Saidu served as Commissioner for Local Government before being appointed as Chief of Staff to the Governor. He was appointed Commissioner of Finance towards the end of the first-term.
“Hafsat Mohammed Baba is the immediate past Commissioner of Women Affairs & Social Development.
“Aisha Dikko is Special Adviser, Legal Matters, the role in which she served in the first-term. She will be the third woman to be appointed as Commissioner of Justice by Malam Nasir El-Rufai. She was called to the bar in 1988, and had worked in banking and private law practise before joining the government.”