5 Buhari appointees President Tinubu should retain

Since it’s a new dispensation, it is expected of Tinubu to appoint people with credible profiles and excellent track records to man critical agencies and other public institutions that hold great importance to the realisation of his renewed hope agenda.

As is usually the practice, a new administration is more likely to appoint a new set of people to head ministries, agencies and parastatals while the old appointees of the previous administration are asked to step aside.

However, as Nigerians continue to wait for President Tinubu to roll out his list of appointments, some notable names from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration have been deemed to deserve a looking from the new helms man.

Thanks to their innovative ideas and strong determination to execute, these individuals have distinguished themselves with outstanding performances in their various roles and their experience and tenacity may just be useful for the new president to help him to get off to a flying start.

In no particular other, here are five appointees of ex-president Buhari that President Tinubu should retain in his administration.

Engr Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad

Engr Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad served the Buhari administration as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). He is one of the outstanding appointees of the last administration, who stood up to the task he was saddled with.

Engr Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad. [Vanguard] Pulse Nigeria

Under his stewardship, the REA delivered several development projects in underserved communities across the country. In the past few years, the agency has deployed solar mini-grids, solar water pumps and solar home systems across the six geopolitical zones in the country.

Some of the projects the agency executed in hundreds of rural communities include the illumination of 170 farms with Solar Street Lights (SSLs); training of over 3,000 farmers on pump maintenance and new irrigation practices; distribution of 1,392 irrigation solar pumps; powering 1,972 homes, five primary healthcare centres, 10 schools, 22 religious centres with Solar Home Systems (SHS).

Prof Ishaq Oloyede

The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, has brought unprecedented dynamism to the exam body in the past seven years.

The Registrar of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board(JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede (Eagle online) Pulse Nigeria

Since his appointment in 2016, Oloyede has made significant reforms in JAMB and increased the remittances of the exam body to the Federal Government.

Between 1978 and 2016, JAMB remitted only N50m but since he took over from Prof Dibu Ojerinde, Prof Oloyede has positioned the exam body in the league of top government agencies with high remittances.

The introduction of technology which blocked leakages and avenues for corrupt officials to siphon money from the board is a commendable initiative of Oloyede’s leadership at JAMB.

Despite reducing the fee for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination forms from N5,000 to N3,500 in 2017, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin has generated over N50b for the Federal Government.

Prof Oloyede has already raised the bar, and this explains why his tenure was extended till 2025.

Mohammed Buba Marwa

As the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) Brigadier-General (retd) Mohammed Buba Marwa has his name inked in the scrolls of history.

Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. General Buba Marwa (Rtd). [@ndlea-nigeria] Pulse Nigeria

Since his appointment on January 15, 2021, by the former president, Marwa has impressively strengthened and repositioned the anti-drug agency in the fight against drug abuse.

With his Offensive Action operation, the former military governor of Lagos State has undoubtedly made life difficult for drug barons and cartels. The initiative has so far led to over 18,940 arrests; over 2,904 convictions, and over 3.6 million kilogrammes of drugs seized.

In light of the drug epidemic particularly among the youths in Nigeria, President Tinubu needs an administrator like Marwa to keep up the fight against drug cartels in Nigeria.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), under the leadership of Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa has undoubtedly become an agency to reckon with.

Abike Dabiri Erewa [Ripples] Pulse Nigeria

With Dabiri-Erewa in the driver’s seat, the commission has been at the forefront of advocacy and calls for justice and fairness for Nigerians abroad.

The NiDCOM boss is largely responsible for the evacuation of stranded Nigerians from Libya, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine and Sudan. She was also at the forefront of the release of a Nigerian, Zainab Aliyu on death row by the Saudi Arabian government for alleged drug-related offences.

Olukayode Pitan

Nigeria’s Bank of Industry is blessed to have Olukayode Pitan as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Since his appointment in 2017, the BOI has, under his leadership exceeded N1 trillion in asset base.

Olukayode Pitan is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry. [Nairametrics] Pulse Nigeria

He pioneered several innovative transactions in the Nigerian capital market and the international financial market towards Nigeria’s economic development.

It was in recognition of these achievements that the International Bankers Magazine conferred BOI with the Best Development Bank Award in 2019.

As Pitan continues to deliver on BOI’s mandate to transform Nigeria’s industrial sector, the Tinubu-led administration would make significant gains from his corporate and banking experience spanning over 30 years.