3rd July, 2019
Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has broken ethnic and gender barriers once again by nominating Fausat Adebola Ibikunle, a Yoruba but Kaduna born architect as a commissioner.
The governor had broken convention in the run-up to his re-election in March by running with a Muslim woman, a medical doctor.
Fausat Ibikunle is proposed in the governor’s letter to the House of Assembly, as commissioner Ministry of Housing & Urban Development.
She was nominated along with 10 others, including spokesman Samuel Aruwan, who El-Rufai has upgraded as commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs.
From her CV, Fausat Adebola Ibikunle is cut for the post being proposed for her.
She was born in Doka district of Kaduna.
She studied Architecture at the Ahmadu Belo University, Zaria, and graduated in 1983. She worked with the Ministry of Defence from 1984 until she moved to the Federal Capital Development Authority as Assistant Director in 2005 in the Public Buildings Department. In 2007, she rose to become Deputy Director in Health & Human Services Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
She joined the Kaduna state government in 2016. She is at present the General Manager of the Kaduna State Urban Planning & Development Authority (KASUPDA).
Also appointed as commissioner is government’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan.
The governor will subsequently forward the three more nominees to make up the 14 commissioners that will constitute the Kaduna State Executive Council.
Samuel Aruwan said that, upon confirmation by the legislature, the commissioners will run the 14 ministries created in the June 2019 Executive Order.
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai nominated 11 persons for appointment as commissioners. The names of this first batch of 11 nominees have been forwarded to the Kaduna State House of Assembly. The second batch of nominees will subsequently be forwarded for the consideration of the legislature.
“All the 11 nominees served in various positions in the first-term of the government. Picking insiders is a deliberate decision to enable the nominees hit the ground running and assist the government to achieve its targets for the second term. Every appointee will be subjected to stronger monitoring based on clear terms of reference and key performance indicators.
“The first batch of 11 nominees for and their proposed portfolios are as follows: Ja’afaru Ibrahim Sani, Ministry of Local Government Affairs; Idris Samaila Nyam, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Technology; Shehu Usman Makarfi, Ministry of Education; Ibrahim Garba Hussaini, Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources; Kabir Muhammad Mato, Ministry of Sports Development; Balaraba Aliyu-Inuwa, Ministry of Public Works & Infrastructure; Samuel Peter Aruwan, Ministry of Internal Security & Home Affairs;
Mohammed Bashir Saidu, Ministry of Finance; Hafsat Mohammed Baba, Ministry of Human Services & Social Development; Aisha Dikko, Ministry of Justice
“Nominations for the commissioners of Agriculture, Health and Planning & Budget will be forwarded in the second batch.
“Ja’afaru Ibrahim Sani served as commissioner in the ministries of Local Government and Education in the first-term. Prior to joining the Kaduna State Executive Council, he was Permanent Secretary Cabinet Affairs.
“Idris Samaila Nyam is the current Accountant-General of the State. He has served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
“Shehu Usman Makarfi is the current Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health.
“Ibrahim Garba Hussaini is the pioneer Director-General of the Kaduna State Geographic Information Service (KADGIS).
“Kabir Muhammad Mato, a professor of Political Science, has served as commissioner of Agriculture and Local Government. He joined the government as Special Adviser, Inter-Governmental Relations.
“Balaraba Aliyu-Inuwa is the immediate past Commissioner of Works, the first woman in Kaduna State to be appointed to that role. She has served as Special Adviser and subsequently Commissioner for Rural & Community Development.
“Samuel Peter Aruwan is Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) and spokesperson for the state government. He was campaign spokesman in 2015 and 2019. He has been an active member of the Kaduna State Security Council since May 2015.
‘Mohammed Bashir Saidu served as Commissioner for Local Government before being appointed as Chief of Staff to the Governor. He was appointed Commissioner of Finance towards the end of the first-term.
“Hafsat Mohammed Baba is the immediate past Commissioner of Women Affairs & Social Development.
“Aisha Dikko is Special Adviser, Legal Matters, the role in which she served in the first-term. She will be the third woman to be appointed as Commissioner of Justice by Malam Nasir El-Rufai. She was called to the bar in 1988, and had worked in banking and private law practice before joining the government.”