Kaduna Gov Assigns New Position to Running Mate

By John Shiklam in Kaduna

The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has appointed his running mate for the 2019 governorship election, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, as a Senior Adviser-Counsellor.

Until the new appointment, she was the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency.

Announcing the appointment in a statement Thursday in Kaduna, Samuel Aruwan, spokesman of the governor, said the new appointment is expected to further expose her to the entire workings of the Kaduna State Government.

The statement said: “In the new function, Dr. Balarabe is expected to work from Government House, overseeing key agencies like the State Pensions Board, Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS) and the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA) and reporting to the governor and advising him on matters of human capital development, and understudying him and the deputy governor in all aspects of governance.”

The statement explained that “as Senior Adviser-Counsellor, she will be at the heart of government, attending meetings of the State Executive and Security Council”.

“This new responsibility places her within the second echelon of the government, next to the two elected leaders of the executive branch,” it said.

The statement said further: “She will join other senior officials to drive the policy and governance aspirations of the government in the remaining crucial months of the current mandate.”

It added: “The second echelon of the Kaduna State Government comprises senior officials who are copied recipients of all correspondences from the governor, as part of Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s strategy to ensure that not just him and the deputy governor are abreast of all issues and decisions the government is dealing with.

“These senior officials act as the principal advisers to the governor and also function as implementors and monitors of the governance agenda of the government.

“In her new role, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe will attend all meetings and activities in the Governor’s Office and perform other assigned responsibilities.”

The statement said Dr. Balarabe is the first woman to join the second echelon since Hadiza Bala-Usman, who served as
the first chief of staff, before taking up the leadership of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

“The new appointment is expected to further expose this accomplished medical doctor and public health expert to the entire workings of the Kaduna State Government,” the statement said.