Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has appointed Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, the immediate past Commissioner for Planning and Budget, as his new Chief of Staff.

The governor has also approved the appointment of seven other officials, including new heads for the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

A statement on Friday by Samuel Aruwan, Commissioner-Designate, Internal Security and Home Affairs, said the governor has approved the following appointments:

1. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi - Chief of Staff

2. Bala Yunusa Mohammed - Deputy Chief of Staff - Legislative

3. Hamza Abubakar - Executive Secretary, SPHCDA

4. Ben Kure Special Adviser, Political Matters

5. Dr. Omano Edigheji - Special Adviser, Research & Documentation

6. Maimuna Abubakar Zakari - Executive Secretary, SEMA

7. Dr. Habiba Ibrahim Mohammed, Special Assistant, Geographic Information Service

8. Jamilu Albani - Director-General, Interfaith Matters

Muhammad Sani Abdullahi was appointed Commissioner for Planning & Budget in 2015 and served in that role throughout the first term of Malam Nasir El-Rufai. Prior to that, he was a Policy Adviser in the Executive Office of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in New York and a member of the Secretary General’s core team that designed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2018, Muhammad was appointed as a member of the World Bank’s Advisory Council on Citizen Engagement.

He has also served in the past as an Economist and Deputy National Program Manager in Nigeria’s Presidency where he supported the design and coordination of development interventions across 36 States focusing on accelerating the country’s progress on the MDGs.

Muhammad holds an MSc in Development Economics and Policy from the University of Manchester, a second master’s in international Affairs and Diplomacy from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and has studied Public Finance at the London School of Economics, Sustainable Development with Columbia University in New York and Advanced Project Management at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Hamza Abubakar assumes office at the State Primary Health Care Development Agency with vast experience in public health. He served as TechnicalAdvisor to the Kaduna State Commissioner of Health.

In that role he was part of the team that developed and delivered the multimillion-dollar Integrated PHC MOU between Kaduna State, Aliko Dangote Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, DFID, Global Fund and UNICEF.

He has worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the DFID and Family Health International. He studied at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine where he earned a Master’s in Humanitarian Health Program Management. He studied medicine at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Bala Yunusa Mohammed is a former Minority Leader in the Kaduna State House of Assembly. He was first appointed Deputy Chief of Staff, Legislative Liaison in 2015.

Ben Kure, the new Special Adviser- Political Matters is the immediate past Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, to which he injected vibrancy and responsiveness. He was twice Director-General of the APC Campaign Council, leading the team to victory in 2019 and 2015. A former banker, Ben Kure has also served as chairman of the Interim Management Committee of Jaba Local Government Council.

Mrs. Maimunatu Asabe Abubakar retired as Director of Environmental Health in the FCT. She studied Nursing and Midwifery at St. Loius’ Hospital in 1983and pursued a career in that field. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Protection. In 2018, she was an APC aspirant for the Kachia-Kagarko House of Representatives seat.

Dr. Omano Edigheji is a public policy expert who has adviced the ANC and public agencies in South Africa. He was Chief Technical Adviser on Public Service Reform at the Public Service Commission of South Africa. He has worked as Research Director in the Policy Analysis Unit of the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa and was Research Manager at the Centre for Policy Studies, a Johannesburg-based policy think-thank. He has consulted for NEPAD, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

Omano holds a Ph.D in Political Science from theNorwegian University of Science and Technology. He was a member of the Kaduna State Transition Committee in 2019 and in 2015.

Dr. Habiba Ibrahim Mohammed won the 2019 award as the best Ph.D in Geoinformatics from the UniversitiTeknologi in Malaysia, where she also earned a master’s degree. She has worked as a Geospatial and Environmental Analyst.

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