Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Nasir Yammama and Ahmed Ishaq Ningi as Senior Special Assistants. The appointments, which take immediate effect, represent two major appointments that could impact the way the president interacts with the digital space as well as his focus on innovation.
Ishaq Ningi, a former media aide to Vice President Kashim Shettima, was appointed as the Senior Special Assistant on Digital Media and Emergency Management. Nasir Yammama, an engineer and creative technologist, was appointed to the office of Special Assistant to the president on innovation.
Both appointments were part of the new batch of 18 aides appointed by the president to help achieve his Renewed Hope agenda. The names of the new presidential aides were revealed in a statement by the Director of Information at the Office of the Vice President, Mr Olusola Abiola.
Mr Abiola said the new appointees comprised six Special Advisers and twelve senior special assistants all of whom would work in the office of the Vice president, Kashim Shettima, to support the renewed hope agenda of the Tinubu-led administration.
Nasir Yammama, SSA on Innovation
Nasir Yammama hails from Katsina state and is a highly celebrated and decorated innovator. The CEO of Verdant, an agriculture technology company which he founded back in 2015, Nasir was awarded the Queens Young Leaders Award in 2017 for his efforts that equipped local farmers with low-cost technologies that helped them increase produce as well as their sales.
Nasir obtained a Master of Science degree in Creative Technology from the Middlesex University in 2015. He describes ‘creative technology’ as the kind of technology that combines technical and creative skills to create the technologies of the future. With such a description of the knowledge he acquired, it isn’t difficult to see that he would be well suited to advice on innovation.
Ahmed Ishaq Ningi
Ishaq Ahmed Ningi hails from Ningi in Bauchi state. A former media aide to the Vice President when he was still governor of Borno State, he is currently based in Kaduna State. He gained his secondary education from the Turaki International Schools in Kaduna. He purportedly studied architecture in the University but there isn’t much detail about his university education.
He is a media specialist and professional graphics designer. He styles himself as an Ambassador for Peace and has a keen interest in polo and motorsports. After serving several years as the media aide to the Vice President, Ahmed Ishaq Ningi would more or less be undertaking slightly different duties albeit on a grander scale.
Other appointments by President Tinubu
Other appointments approved by the president include Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the brother to the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed. Hakeem becomes a Special Adviser in Political Matters. His brother, Datti, remains Peter Obi’s closest friend even as they continue their quest to overturn President Tinubu’s election.
Also appointed was Rukaiya El-Rufai, the daughter of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai who, it was claimed, had fallen out of Favour with the new administration. Rukaiya, a financial expert, will resume as the Special Adviser to the president on National Economic Council (NEC) and Climate Change.
Other appointees include:
Tope Kolade Fasua as Special Adviser to the president on Economic matters.
Aliyu Modibbo as the Special Adviser, General Duties.
Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Investment.
Sadiq Wanka, Special Adviser to the President on Power Infrastructure;
Usman Mohammed, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Office Coordination
Kingsley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications.
Peju Adebajo, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Investment and Privatisation.
Mohammed Bulama, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political/Special Duties.
Kingsley Uzoma as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement.
Gimba Kakanda, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Research and Analytics.
Temitola Adekunle-Johnson as the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Job Creation and MSMEs.
Zainab Yunusa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on NEC.
Mariam Temitope as Senior Special Assistant to the President, Regional Development Programmes.
Bashir Maidugu, Deputy State House Counsel (Senior Special Assistant to the President).