14th March, 2017
Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson and 53 others have been appointed Senior Special Assistants, SSA, by the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
Mercy Johnson was appointed SSA to the Governor on Entertainment, Arts and Culture.
A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Mrs. Ayoade Folashade Arike, in Lokoja, said the appointments are effective from 1st of April, 2017.
The rationale for the additional appointees at the state level, the statement read, is to “plug identified gaps in service delivery, fill key positions with the right people and to broaden inclusiveness in governance by bringing people from more communities on board.”
According to the statement, in addition to the 54 Senior Special Assistants appointed, nine Special Assistants to the Governor as Federal Constituency Supervisors for the GYB Connect Programme has also been approved.
The statement said the appointment is to recognise and encourage outstanding contributions to the New Direction Agenda.
The statement added that the nine Special Assistants would also act as direct liaisons between the present administration and the Local Government Ward Coordinators of the GYB Connect Programme.
Some other SSAs are: Hon. Abdullahi Bello, SSA to the Governor on Political Matters; Hajia Ladi Mariam Ibrahim, SSA to the Governor on Land Matters; Sandra Musa, SSA to the Governor on Women and Children Development; Abdulraheem Baba Aliyu, SSA to the Governor on Security and Intelligence; Abdusalam Yahaya, SSA to the Governor on Political Matters; Amodu Hassan, SSA to the Governor on Persons with Disabilities; Abubakar Muhammed Muktar, SSA to the Governor on Youth Empowerment and Ibrahim Tahiti, SSA to the Governor on Security and Intelligence.