NIGERIA: ECON-RELATED NEW MINISTER BIOS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 001694 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR (AGAMA) DEPT OF ENERGY FOR CAROLYN GAY DEPT OF LABOR FOR SUDHA HALEY E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ECON-RELATED NEW MINISTER BIOS REF: ABUJA 1638 ABUJA 00001694 001.2 OF 004 ¶1. SUMMARY: The incoming Ministers come from a variety of backgrounds in keeping with Nigeria's ethnic diversity and several analysts have praised the appointments. President Yar'adua will act as Minister of Energy, following the footsteps of his predecessor. Questions remain on several Ministers' expertise, particularly the junior ministers in the Energy Ministry, who have already admitted ignorance in their assigned portfolios. Whether inexperience will hinder the ministers' duties to administrate and coordinate remains to be seen. The following information provides bios on the recently inaugurated new cabinet ministers and their deputies responsible for economic, health and labor portfolios. END SUMMARY. ¶2. On July 26, President Yar'adua inaugurated a new cabinet of ministers, and in the ministries of Energy, Finance, Commerce, Health, Mines and Steel Development, and Transport, appointed both Ministers and Ministers of State. The Ministers of State are junior ministers, usually given responsibilities of lesser importance to the substantive minister, required to report to the substantive minister, and act in the minister's absence. . Minister of Finance -------------- . ¶3. Since June 1999, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman has been the Deputy Governor responsible for Domestic Monetary and Banking Policy in the Central Bank of Nigeria. Usman has been Chairman and a Board member of a number of institutions, including Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Steering Committee of the Abuja Commodities Exchange, and the African Export-Import Bank in Cairo, Egypt. In October 1994, Usman was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive, NAL Merchant Bank. Prior to that, he was Executive Director for International and Investments Sector, United Bank for Africa (1992 - 1993); and Corporate and International Banking, Union Bank of Nigeria (1993 - 1994). Usman has worked both in the private and public sectors as Director General of the Technical Committee on Privatization and Commercialization (1989 - 1991); General Manager NAL Merchant Bank (1985 - 1988); controller at the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (1981 - 1985); lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1976 - 1981); and Planning Officer at the Kano State Ministry of Economic Planning (1974 - 1976). ¶4. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and proceeded to the London School of Economics and Political Science where he obtained a Masters degree in Economics in 1977 and a doctorate in 1980. Usman is a recipient of the Nigerian National Honors Award of the "Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR)". Usman was born on September 18, 1949 in Kano State. . Minister of State for Finance -------------- . ¶5. The Minister of State for Finance, Aderemi Babalola, is responsible for issues relating to domestic finance, customs, and the monthly federal allocation committee meetings, while the Minister of Finance is responsible for Nigeria's relationship with multilateral and bilateral institutions and overall management of fiscal policy. Babalola is amiable and hardworking. His experience working as part of management in two of the most profitable and well run banks in Nigeria should be a plus for him in his new assignment. ¶6. Since September 2005, Babalola has been Executive Director at First Bank Nigeria Plc, one of the leading and dominant banks in the country. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, he was Deputy General Manager and Divisional Head of Corporate Planning and Group Coordination. Babalola also worked for Zenith Bank from 1990 to 2001, and rose to become General Manager, Lagos and Western Region Business Division. Before his foray into the banking industry, he worked for PriceWaterhouse and Arthur Andersen. Babalola holds a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan, and a Master of Banking and Finance from the University of Lagos. He was born on September 8, 1964. Minister of State for Energy (Power) -------------- . ¶7. Since October 1999, Fatima Balaraba Ibrahim has been Executive Director responsible for Finance and Administration at the Nigerian ABUJA 00001694 002.2 OF 004 Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). Ibrahim has experience administering a state ministry and being in charge of finance and administration at the NDIC. ¶8. Ibrahim has been Assistant Director and Company Secretary at the NDIC from 1989 to 1999. Prior to her joining the NDIC she was Commissioner for Health, Sokoto State from 1984 to 1988. Between 1976 and 1988 she was a lecturer at Bayero University, Kano; Kaduna Polytechnic; and Uthman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. Ibrahim has attended various courses in several institutions including World Bank/Federal Reserve Seminar for Bank Supervisors from Emerging Economies in Washington D.C., and Pension Fund and Investment Management Course, at the Wharton School, Pennsylvania. She holds a diploma in French from the University of Dakar, Senegal, a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a Masters degree in French from the Bayero University, Kano. Ibrahim was born on April 16, 1947 in Kebbi. . Minister of State for Energy (Gas) -------------- . ¶9. Until his appointment, Emmanuel Odusina was the Chairman/Managing Director of MTB Petroleum and Gas Nigeria Limited. He worked with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from 1983 to 2004, rising to the position of Chief Officer before his retirement. Prior to working at the NNPC, he worked as Postal Officer at the Ministry of Communications in Lagos. Odusina holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Morgan State University, Baltimore, and a Masters degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma. He was born on November 25, 1943 . Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum) -------------- . ¶10. Henry Ajumogobia served as Rivers Rivers State Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice between 2003 and 2007. As Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, he was responsible for running the affairs of the state's Ministry of Justice. From 1984 he was Principal Partner in the law firm of Ajumogobia and Okeke and worked as Associate Partner in the law firm of Fred Egbe and Company between 1980 and 1983. Prior, he was a Graduate Assistant with the Law Faculty, University of Lagos. Ajumogobia holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1979. He also holds a Masters degree in Law from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA. He was born on June 29, 1956. . Minister of Commerce and Industry -------------- . ¶11. Engineer Charles Chukwuemeka Ugwuh, an industrialist, was the immediate past president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and is Chairman of both Rokana Industries and Hydro Resources Industries Limited. Embassy industry contacts consider him an active and successful industrialist, and believe he will be a strong voice for local manufacturers. ¶12. Ugwuh holds a Higher National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and an Advanced Diploma in Power Engineering from Borough Polytechnic, London. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in thermodynamics from Birmingham University, England. Ugwuh was born on December 3, 1942. . Minister of State for Commerce and Industry -------------- . ¶13. Alhaji Ahmed Garba Bichi was Executive Director responsible for services in the Hadejia-Jama'are River Basin Development Authority before his new appointment. He held various portfolios with responsibilities for agriculture and rural development in Kano State from 1984 to 2005. Bichi rose to the position of Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kano Agricultural Supply Company, before retiring from the state civil service in 2005. Bichi holds a Higher National Diploma in Agricultural Mechanization from the Kaduna Polytechnic and a post graduate diploma in Management and MBA from Bayero University, Kano. Bichi was born on November 28, 1964. . Minister of Transport -------------- . ¶14. Deziani K. Allison-Madueke was External Affairs Director, Shell ABUJA 00001694 003.2 OF 004 Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Nigeria Limited, and was the first female director of the Anglo-Dutch oil giant. Between 1993 and 2007 she served as Head, Projects Unit, Lagos; Head, Estates and Civil Infrastructure and Corporate Issues Management; Adviser, Strategy Planning; Lead Ventures Relations. Prior to joining SPDC Allison-Madueke worked with American Interior Builders Inc. in Washington D.C as Project Engineer, and in 1988 joined Furman Construction Management Inc, Rockville, Maryland, as Design Coordinator. Allison-Madueke holds a B.S. in Architecture from Howard University, Washington D.C. and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Cambridge University, UK. Allison-Madueke was born on December 6, 1960. . Minister of State for Transport -------------- . ¶15. Prior to his recent appointment, Prince John Okechukwu Emeka was managing director and chief executive of Fichtel and Sachs (West Africa) Limited, an automobile parts manufacturing company in Lagos. He had earlier worked with Nigerian Commercial and industrial Enterprises Limited as managing director and chief executive in 1990 and executive director in 1987. Emeka holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Columbia College, NY and an MBA from Fontbonne College, Saint Louis, MO. He was born on July 18, 1962. . Minister/Deputy Chairman National Planning Commission -------------- -------------- . ¶16. Senator Muhammed Sanusi Daggash served as Senator from 2003 to 2007 and was a Member of the Federal House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. While in the House of Representatives he served as the Chairman, House Committee on Commerce. Daggash has held various positions in the private sector which includes Director, Mass Consult Nigeria Limited; Director, International Procurement Services Nigeria Limited; and Director, Matrix-Chad Limited, Kaduna. He also worked as an architect with the Borno State Ministry of Works and Housing between 1982 and 1986. Daggash holds a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Architecture from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also holds a Master of Science in Development Economics from the University of London, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri. Daggash was born on December 22, 1960. . Minister for Housing and Environment -------------- . ¶17. During the administration of former President Obasanjo, Halima Tayo Alao was appointed Minister of State for Education and later Minister of State for Health, which she held until May 29, 2007. Prior to this, Alao was Permanent Secretary in the Kwara State Civil Service in 2003 and served in the Ministry of Lands and Housing and later the Ministry of Works and Transport. She had earlier served as Executive Secretary, Kwara State Commission for Women in 1995 and Director, Kwara State Ministry for Women Affairs in 1997. Alao started her career in 1982 as an architect with the Kwara State Town Planning Authority and rose to the position of Principal Architect. She holds a Master of Science degree in Architecture from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Master of Public Administration from University of Ilorin. She was born on December 6, 1956. . Minister of Health -------------- . ¶18. Professor Adenike Grange is the current president of the International Pediatrics Association. She joined the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in 1971 and attained the position of professor in 1995. Between 1964 and 1971, she worked in various hospitals in Nigeria, Germany, and Britain. She began her career as a clinical clerk at the University College, Ibadan in 1962. Professor Grange was born in 1940. . Minister of State for Health -------------- . ¶19. Chief Gabriel Aduku was Executive Chairman of ArchCon, a firm of architects, prior to his appointment. Aduku joined ArchCon as an architect in 1970 and rose to become its executive chairman in 1984. He had earlier worked as an Assistant Technical Officer with the Institute of Agricultural Research, Samaru, Zaria from 1964 to 1970. Aduku holds a Bachelors degree in Architecture from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He was born on February 3, 1944. ABUJA 00001694 004.2 OF 004 . Minister of Mines and Steel Development -------------- . ¶20. Chief Sarafa Tunji Ishola was Secretary to Ogun State Government from 2003 to 2007. Ishola is an alumnus of the State Department's International Visitors Program. Ishola was responsible for coordinating the affairs of Commissioners in Ogun State between 2003 and 2007. ¶21. He had earlier served as Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Finance from 1999 to 2003; and Chairman, Abeokuta North Local Government Council between 1997 and 1998. Ishola was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive of TAIST Nigeria Limited in 1990 and worked with the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (1986) and Federal College of Education, Katsina (1983). Ishola holds a diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, London. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, England and the British Institute of Management. He was born on November 25, 1960. . Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development -------------- -------------- . ¶22. Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Gusau was elected deputy governor of Sokoto State in 1991. He had earlier been the Coordinator, People's Bank, Sokoto State. He also served in various capacities in the old North-Western State Government and later Sokoto State. Gusau holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Modern Management from the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He was born on January 1, 1950. . Minister of Labor -------------- . ¶23. Dr. Hassan Mohammed Lawal was Minister of Labor and Productivity from 2004 to the end of the last administration. He is favorably regarded by members of the Nigerian labor movement for his work in strengthening tripartite communication. Lawal had served as Legal Adviser at the Port-Harcourt Refinery; Special Assistant to the Minister of Petroleum Resources; General Manager of NNPC and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nigerian Shippers Council between 1990 and 2004. He was Sub-Dean, Head of Department and member of the Senate of the University of Jos before joining the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1990. Lawal served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Plateau State General Supplies and Distribution Agency from 1986 to 1988, and Magistrate, Plateau State Judiciary from 1980 to 1981. He holds a law degree from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Master of Law and Ph.D from University of Warwick, England. He was born on October 12, ¶1954. GRIBBIN