President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman the new Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), confirming earlier reports on Tuesday about her nomination.
A statement via @AsoRock the official Twitter handle of the Presidency confirmed the appointment.
President @MBuhari has appointed Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman as Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA),with effect from July 11, 2016
— Govt of Nigeria (@AsoRock) July 12, 2016
Also appointed to NPA are:
Mohammed Bello-Koko ED (Finance)
Prof. Idris Abubakar ED (Engineering)
Dr. Sekonte Davies ED (Marine Operations)— Govt of Nigeria (@AsoRock) July 12, 2016
Ms. Bala Usman was until her new appointment Chief of Staff to Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State.
As a member of the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Ms. Bala Usman co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls campaign alongside former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili. She is believed to have used the #BringBackOurGirls platform as a strong emotional campaign in mobilising public sentiment against the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Ms. Bala Usman was first appointed into President Buhari’s Transition Committee when he won the March 2015 presidential polls. She quickly disengaged from the #BringBackOurGirls campaign immediately she clinched an appointment as Chief of Staff to Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, a position she holds till this day. She was also later nominated to serve in President Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee headed by Prof. Itse Sagay.
Ms. Bala Usman was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, on January 2, 1976.
She grew up close to the ABU campus where her father worked and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in 2000 from the same university and her Master’s degree from the University of Leeds in 2009.
She worked for a non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Democratic Development and Research Training (CEDDERT) in Zaria, as a research assistant for a year starting in 1999.
She also worked for the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) when El-Rufai was the director-general of the privatisation agency and moved with him to work as his Special Assistant on Project Implementation.
She is married to Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, former Chief Economic Adviser to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and they have two sons.
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