Meet Tinubu’s Advisers

Deji Elumoye and Emmanuel Addeh  in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu yesterday appointed a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu as Special Adviser, Security and a former Commissioner in Lagos, Dele Alake, Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy.
 A statement signed by the State House Director of Information, Mr Abiodun Oladunjoye, also stated that  Wale Edun, also a former aide to the president, had been picked as the Special Adviser, Monetary Policies while Mrs. Olu Verheijen was tapped as Special Adviser, Energy.
Other new appointees by the president included: Mr. Yau Darazo, who is now Special Adviser, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs; Zachaeus Adedeji, Special Adviser, Revenue; John Uwajumogu, Special Adviser, Industry, Trade and Investment and Dr Salma Anas, Special Adviser, Health.
Last week, Tinubu had requested the senate to approve 20 special advisers for him.  A number of the advisers, who will assist the president in the next four years, are relatively new in the Nigerian political space.

Ribadu

Born in 1960, Ribadu, was in 2003 appointed as the pioneer executive chairman of the EFCC where he cut his teeth in public service. He was an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) before his appointment.
The new security adviser, who hails from Adamawa State is a lawyer. One remarkable case successfully prosecuted by Ribadu was that of his boss, the then Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, who was convicted, jailed and made to return about £150 million under a plea bargain arrangement.
Under Ribadu’s leadership at the EFCC, Nigeria was delisted from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) List of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories and  admitted into the prestigious Egmont Group.

Alake

Alake, who hails from Ekiti state was born in 1956 and was commissioner for Information and Strategy to the then Governor of Lagos State, Tinubu, between 1999–2007.
He is a graduate of the University of Lagos, Akoka and was the Director of Media and Communication of the Tinubu Campaign Council in the just-concluded 2023 election.
He was said to be pivotal to the creation of Lagos Television (LTV 8) and at a various times in his career worked with the Concord Group of Newspapers – National Concord and Sunday Concord as an editor and writer. He also served as the columnist of the National Concord.
Before he was appointed commissioner in Lagos, Alake was first Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the then governor. Previously, in 2014, he was appointed  the director of Media and Communication of the Buhari Campaign Organisation in preparation.

 Edun

With a background in economics, public finance, international finance, merchant banking and corporate finance at both national and international levels,  Edun was the Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.
 He is the founder of Denham Management Limited, Chairman of Livewell Initiative, a health sector Non-Governmental Organization(NGO) and a Trustee of Sisters Unite for Children, an NGO focused on helping children in need.  He also sits on the Board of a number of other companies.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of London and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Sussex, England. He was also the Head of Treasury and Deputy Head of Corporate Finance at Chase Merchant Bank.

Adedeji

A former Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State between 2011 and 2015, Adedeji is an accountant as well as a corporate tax and public finance development expert. He has over 15 years of experience in corporate accounting, public service administration and public service advisory.
As commissioner, he was said to have led his team to institute a Medium-Term Financial (MTF) strategy for the overall framework of financial and budgetary management of the state.
He is the co-founder and managing partner of RTR, a financial consulting firm that provides financial advisory and policy development services to public administrators and private institutions in West Africa.
He holds a first class degree in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and a certificate in Comparative Tax Policy and Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.
The 45-year-old who hails from Ogbomosho, who is the new Special Adviser, Revenue to the president was executive secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC).

Uwajumogu

Uwajumogu is a Partner with Ernst & Young (EY) and was the Energy leader for West Africa. He has over 20 years of advisory experience primarily in the energy industry. He was director with Grant Thornton from 2012 to 2016 and PwC in 2009 to 2012.
Aside Nigeria, he is said to have had significant experience working in the energy markets in Houston, Texas and Calgary, Alberta.
He holds a Masters in International Affairs from the Fletcher School at Tuff University. He is also a member of the American Institute of Chartered Public Accountants (AICPA).

Anas

A former Borno State commissioner for Health between 2011 and 2015, under then Governor and now Vice President, Kashim Shettima,  Anas is a public health specialist with over 25 years of experience in health sector development, policy formulation, and strategic development.
She is currently the director of Family Health Services at the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) where she leads important divisions like reproductive health, child health and gender, adolescent, school health and elderly care, among others.
She is believed to have successfully led the state’s health sector in the heat of  the  state’s humanitarian crisis, which earned her public accolades.

 Verheijen

An energy expert with nearly two decades of experience, before her latest appointment, Verheijen served as an Advisory Council Member of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Energy for Growth Hub.
 Founder of BFA Foundation, she was Shell’s finance lead on the negotiations for Nigeria’s first World Bank Partial Risk (PRG) Guarantee to improve bankability of gas supply to state-owned power plants.
She holds a BA  from Long Island University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Darazo

Apart from being a senior special adviser on special duties to former president Muhammadu Buhari and defending Tinubu after his outburst in Abeokuta, Ogun state, before the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries, not much is known about Darazo’s background.