By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of 26 persons into the boards and management of 10 federal government agencies and commissions, with former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, named Chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency, REA.

The appointments, announced on Monday in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, take immediate effect.

According to the statement, Fayose will chair the board of the REA, while Ahmadu Abubakar and Engineer Ilyasu Ibrahim Makinta were appointed as members and non-executive directors.

The board also includes the agency’s incumbent Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, alongside the three executive directors previously appointed.

President Tinubu also appointed Major General Junaid Bindawa as Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and approved the appointment of eight other officials into the commission.

Former member of the House of Representatives from Lagos State, Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, was named Secretary of the commission, while Dr Ogbole Ene Lilian, Oladele Olatubosun and Yakubu Umar Barde were appointed as commissioners representing Benue, Oyo and Kaduna states, respectively.

Other members of the commission are Dr Mai Adamu Yau (Borno), Ginika Florence Tor (Enugu), Engineer Lawrence Okoh (Edo) and Bello Morenike Iyabode (Kogi).

In another appointment, Tosin Johnson Adeyanju, who previously served as Executive Secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund, NLTF, was redeployed as Secretary of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission.

The President also appointed Dr Abuh Mohammed as Director-General of the National Population Commission, NPC, Dr Akinola Odeyemi as Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, NBET, and Dr Anthony Inalegwu Godwin as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission.

Engineer Julius Oloro was named Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation, NCAM, based in Ilorin, Kwara State. He succeeds Dr A.R. Kamal, who died in January.

Tinubu further approved the constitution of the board of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, with Dr Abdullahi Maikano Saidu appointed as Chairman.

Other members of the board are Mohammed Asmau, Mohammed Aliyu Makama, Dr Suleiman Gidado, Louis O. Ndukwe, Amaechi Ugwele and Olaniyi Idowu Onikola.

The President also appointed Shuni Muhammad Dahiru as Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education. Dahiru replaces Professor Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, who was reassigned to the Petroleum Trust Development Fund, PTDF, in April.

In the Federal Housing Authority, FHA, Tinubu appointed Gisaor Vincent Iorja as Executive Director, Finance, to replace Mathias Byuan, who resigned from the position to contest the Benue State governorship election.

Iorja, an economist, legal scholar and academic, is currently the Secretary of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, BSIEC.

The Presidency said all the appointments take immediate effect.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Andy Burnham has become the United Kingdom’s prime minister and was invited by King Charles III to form a government, after Keir Starmer’s resignation.

Burnham enters office promising a “10-year plan for the country” to address some of the fundamental issues holding the UK back.

He added: “I’m not saying that means I’m setting out to say I’m going to be here for 10 years. It’s more that we’re not in the right place structurally.”

In his first Downing Street speech he promised to give people “breathing room” against the rising cost of living.

He intends to urge the country to be honest about the challenges it faces and will call for “reflection and resolution.”

He enumerated that he is “acutely conscious” that the UK has had seven prime ministers in a little over 10 years, stressing the need for more stable and responsible politics and pledging to restore faith in government.

In his final appearance at the prime minister’s office in Downing Street, Starmer said his “work is done” and that he was leaving the country “stronger and fairer” than when he took office just two years ago.

“I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved,” he added.

After a brief audience with the king, the palace announced Starmer had tendered his resignation which Charles was “graciously pleased to accept.”

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service, FFS, Olumode Adeyemi Samuel, has approved the immediate deployment of Deputy Controller of Fire, DCF, UM Sadiq as the new State Controller for the Kano State Command.

The appointment, which takes immediate effect, is part of the Service’s ongoing efforts to strengthen operational leadership and enhance public safety across the country.

Mr Sadiq takes over from Controller of Fire, CSF, Kazeem Sholadoye, who has been redeployed to the Jigawa State Command in an acting capacity.

The Federal Fire Service commended Sholadoye for his dedication and contributions during his tenure in Kano.

The newly appointed State Controller is familiar with the Kano Command, having previously served as its Acting Commanding Officer between 2015 and 2017.

An indigene of Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, his return is expected to leverage his experience and knowledge of the state to improve emergency response and fire safety operations.

A statement by the Service described Mr Sadiq as a seasoned firefighter, administrator and policy strategist with extensive experience in fire prevention, emergency management and institutional reforms.

During his career, he has held several strategic positions within the Federal Fire Service, including Team Lead of Package B at the National Stadium, Abuja, in 2015; Commanding Officer of the Kano State Command between 2015 and 2017; Head of Appointment, Promotion and Discipline at the National Headquarters from 2017 to 2020; and Third-in-Command in charge of Policy, Planning, Research and Statistics between 2020 and 2021.

He also served as Head of Registry at the National Headquarters from 2021 to 2022, Second-in-Command of the Jigawa State Command between 2022 and 2023, State Controller of the Kaduna State Command from 2023 to 2024, and most recently, State Controller of the Kogi State Command from 2024 until his latest deployment.

According to the statement, Sadiq has played a significant role in the development of policies aimed at modernising the Service’s operational framework and improving emergency response mechanisms across the country.

The Service expressed optimism that his deployment to Kano would strengthen firefighting operations, improve public safety strategies, deepen community engagement and reinforce the state’s firefighting infrastructure.

The Controller-General expressed confidence in Sadiq’s ability to provide effective leadership for the Kano State Command and urged officers and personnel of the command to give him their full cooperation and support in the discharge of his duties.