PROFILE: Get to Know Bianca Ojukwu And Six Additional Ministerial Candidates

By Omisola Islamiyat
6 Min Read

In addition, the President nominated seven new ministers for Senate confirmation and reassigned ten ministers to new ministerial portfolios.

Five ministers were fired and seven new ones were nominated for Senate confirmation on Wednesday, marking the start of President Bola Tinubu’s eagerly anticipated cabinet reshuffle.

In addition, the President nominated seven new ministers for Senate confirmation and reassigned ten ministers to new ministerial portfolios.The tenure of suspended Betta Edu was formally terminated when Tinubu appointed Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs.In addition, the President proposed Yusuf Ata as the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Suwaiba Ahmad as the Minister of State Education, Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole as the Minister of Industry, and Idi Maiha as the Minister for the recently established Livestock Development Ministry.

Photo File:Channels Tv

The President dismissed Abdullahi Gwarzo as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; Jamila Ibrahim as Minister of Youth Development; Tahir Mamman as Minister of Education; Lola Ade-John as Minister of Tourism; and Uju-Ken Ohanenye as Minister of Women Affairs.

The President wished the departing members of the Federal Executive Council luck in their future endeavours and expressed gratitude for their service to the country.He then urged both the recently appointed ministers and their colleagues who had been reassigned to view their appointment as a call to serve the country.

He went on to say that all new hires should be aware of the administration’s desire and resolve to put Nigeria on a course for permanent development and put their all into bringing the government’s goals to fruition.

Three months after taking office, Tinubu, the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), named 48 ministers in August 2023. The ministers were promptly vetted and confirmed by the Senate. In January, Simon Lalong, one of the ministers, moved to the Senate, while Betta Edu, another, was suspended.Calls have been made for the president to reorganise his cabinet because many Nigerians are dissatisfied with the way some of the ministers have performed, particularly in light of the country’s terrible economic conditions, record-breaking inflation, and growing insecurity.The president will reorganise his cabinet, according to presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga in September, but he did not specify when this would happen.

Photo file:Channels Tv

Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is an accomplished diplomat, lawyer, businesswoman and beauty pageant titleholder.In 2011, then President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Bianca as Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs. She later became Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana and later Ambassador to the Kingdom Of Spain. She is Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.The widow of former Biafra warlord Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is a multiple international pageant titleholder.

Photo file:Channels Tv

Maigari Dingyadi

Previously a Minister of Police Affairs from August 2019 to May 2023, Sokoto-born Dingyadi graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 1978.Politically, Dingyadi once represented Bodinga Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, He is a former Secretary to the Sokoto State Government and Chairman National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) Abuja.

Jumoke Oduwole

Oduwole is an academic, advisor, and speaker. She served as Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Ease of Doing Business from August 2019 to May 2023.Before her appointment to this role, Jumoke was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment in the Office of the Vice President.She is currently on leave of absence from the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she is a Senior Lecturer.

Nentawe Yilwatda

From Plateau State, Yilwatda is a registered Engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), a community developer and a lecturer with the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.Yilwatda was appointed Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017 and posted to Benue State as Resident Electoral Commissioner.

Idi Maiha

Maiha is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kaduna-based Zaidi Farms Limited. He is also a former Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.

Yusuf Ata

An accomplished teacher, Ata was a former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly.Between 2003 and 2007, Ata was appointed Special Adviser to Kano State Governor on Assembly Matters and later was appointed as Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs.

Suwaiba Ahmad

Ahmad is a trained educationist and gender advocate. She is a lecturer at Bayero University Kano, Nigeria, and is currently the Director of its Centre for Gender Studies.She has served the University in different positions including level coordinator, examination officer, PG coordinator, Sub Dean Academics, and Head of Department Science Education.

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