His Appointments Since Assumption of Office on May 29

Deji Elumoye and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Since taking over the reins of power, President Bola Tinubu has made appointments into key positions, which in some way, has also shown the direction of the new government.

Aside what appears to be some form of regional balancing in his appointments, Tinubu has also been applauded for ensuring a semblance of gender balance in his key picks.

Not many would also disagree that a number of his new aides are could  be described as round pegs in round holes. Listed below are the appointments so far.

Though he has not made up to 30 appointments in the last 30 days, we identify some individuals, male and female, who could be rightly described as power behind the scene. They are very influential in shaping decisions of the president.

GEORGE AKUME- Recently appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Akume was at various times governor, senator and minister. His office oversees  ministries and parastatals of the federal government.

Recall that the announcement of the appointments of service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police and suspension of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, emanated from his office.

FEMI GBAJABIAMILA-He’s the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the president and a member of Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet. Nigeria’s erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, he oversees the president’s official activities on a daily basis.

Wale Edun-Edun is a very close ally of the president who oversees some of his business interests especially in the media. He is also a member of Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet and is presently the special adviser to the president on monetary policy.

NUHU RIBADU-The pioneer chairman of the EFCC, Ribadu was recently appointed the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the president and has been a close political ally of Tinubu for over a decade.

DELE ALAKE- Alake is a member of Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet. He is believed to have come a long way with the president, having served as Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy (1999 to 2007) while Tinubu held sway as governor of the state.

He is currently the Special Adviser to the president on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy.

OLU VERHEIJEN – She is the Special Adviser to the president on Energy and doubles as a member of the president’s think tank. She also worked closely with Tinubu’s economic team to develop an economic blueprint for the nation.

HADIZA BALA USMAN – Usman is the Special Adviser to the president on Policy Coordination. A former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), she also worked in the  presidential campaign team of Tinubu and Shettima in the run-up to the general elections.

HANNATU MUSAWA-Now a Special Adviser to the President on Culture and Entertainment Economy, Musawa was also a member of the Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign team.

 FOLASHODUN ADEBISI- Adebisi was recently mappointed by the president as the Acting Governor of the CBN. He attended the University of Lagos where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

He was Deputy Governor, Operations of the CBN and represented the Governor of the apex bank on the Board of the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS) before his latest appointment.

 ABDULLAHI GUMEL- The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters  (Senate).

OLAREWAJU KUNLE IBRAHIM – Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).

ABDULKARIM CHUKOL- Until his new role as Acting Chairman, EFCC, he was the Director of Operations of the Commission.

A pioneer staff member of the commission and member of the EFCC Cadet Course One,  Chukkol is an investigator with specialty in cybercrime and money laundering.

KAYODE EGBETOKUN – He is Acting Inspector General of Police and had before now served as Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the president when he was governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007.

ADENIYI  ADEWALE – He is the Acting Comptroller General of Customs who was at various times Comptroller of Lagos airport Command as well as spokesperson of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

MAJ. GEN. CHRISTOPHER MUSA – The new Acting Chief of Defence Staff  is a member of the 38th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and was commissioned on  September 21,1991 into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps.

He holds a Masters in Defence Studies from the National Defence University in Beijing, China and has held several command appointments. He was in the thick of the fight against Boko Haram at a point and was Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai and Infantry Corps before his recent appointment.

 MAJ. GEN. TAOREED LAGBAJA – Lagbaja is a member of the 39 regular course of the NDA. He holds a Bachelor’s in Geography from NDA Kaduna and a Master’s from U.S. Army War College.

He was formerly the Chief of Operations (Army) and was General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Kaduna, and 82 Division, Nigerian Army Enugu. He was also Commander, Operation Harmony IV in the Bakassi Peninsula, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Operation Zaki.

He was also deeply involved in Operation Lafiya Dole, Operation MESA/UDO KA, and was GOC 1 Division in Kaduna.

REAR ADMIRAL EMMANUEL OGALLA-  He is the Acting Chief of Naval Staff and hails from Enugu. A member of the 39 Regular Course of NDA, until his recent appointment, he was the Director of Lessons Learnt at the Naval Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans. He had held several command appointments and attended several courses before he was picked by the president to head the navy.

AIR VICE MARSHAL HASSAN ABUBAKAR –  Abubakar was appointed Acting Chief of Air Staff by Tinubu recently. The new CAS is a member of 39 Regular Course of NDA and was commissioned Pilot Officer on 19 September 1992. He was the Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command before his latest posting.

MAJ. GEN. EMMANUEL UNDIANDEYE-The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Undiandeye was until his appointment the Commandant of the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre, Jaji, Kaduna State. He is of the Intelligence Corps of the Nigerian Army.

THOSE WIELDING POWER BEHIND THE SCENE

OLUREMI TINUBU – First Lady and former ranking senator, Remi as she’s fondly called by her admirers, has a lot of influence over her husband.

SEYI  TINUBU – He is the president’s son who was actively involved in the electioneering campaign of his father. He mobilised several youth groups to key into his father’s election project.

After his father’s election, he’s been seen around the State House and even travelled with the president to France.

SIMON LALONG – He served as Director General of Tinubu-Shettima campaign group. Lalong, a former governor of Plateau state lost his bid to serve in the 10th Senate.

NASIR EL-RUFAI – A former governor of Kaduna state and a strong force behind the massive votes received by the president in North-West, el-Rufai was said to have sold the candidature of Tajudeen Abbas from his home State, Kaduna, as House Speaker to Tinubu. He is known for his bluntness and is believed to be close to the president.

GBENGA DANIEL – He is a very close friend of the president who served in the transition committee that set the pace for Tinubu after his election as Governor of Lagos State in 1999.

Since then, they have remained friends and with Daniel’s presence in the Red Chamber as a senator, he is likely to influence his colleagues to support executive bills brought before the senate.

BAYO ONANUGA – He served as spokesperson of the Tinubu-Shettima campaign group during the February 25, 2023 poll. Onanuga is also a very regular face at the State House and is reportedly being pencilled down for a ministerial appointment.

BABATUNDE FASHOLA – He has come a long way with the president since Tinubu’s days as governor of Lagos state when he served as Chief of Staff. Fashola played a prominent role during the presidential election as he was in charge of the Situation Room where the election results were coordinated.

 BABATUNDE OGALA – Ogale is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and ally of the president who once served as National Legal Adviser to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He served as agent to Tinubu at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja where the 2023 presidential election result was collated and announced by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

ABIODUN FALEKE – A member of Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet who was also on the card for CoS before Gbajabiamila was eventually appointed. A ranking member of the House of Representatives, Faleke is Tinubu’s contact person in the Green Chamber.  He has been liaising with the leaders and members of the 10th House on behalf of the president.