By Angeline Mgbele, Bureau Chief, North

Nigerian Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has okayed the appointment of new and returning Chief Executives to fresh terms in office across multiple agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy(FMoCIDE). 

In a press statement conveying the new appointments and approvals,  Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) Chief Ajuri Ngelale, says the appointments are effective immediately.

As per the statement, the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC)  has a new EVC / CEO,  in Aminu Maida.  Mr. Maida succeeds Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, under whose leadership, the Commission achieved many feats including, but not limited to, increased broadband penetration and the successful auctioning of frequency spectra for the commercial deployment of the potentially disruptive fifth generation (5G) technology.

Other agencies affected by the appointments include:

• MD / CEO, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) — Nkechi Egerton-Idehen.  Ms Egerton-Idehen succeeds Tukur Mohammed Lawal Funtua, appointed by the past President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022.
• DG / CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.  Mallam Inuwa has been NITDA DG since August 20, 2019.
• National Commissioner / CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) — Dr. Vincent Olatunji.  Dr. Olatunji was confirmed shortly after Tinubu assumed the Presidency of the country, tweaking the former Nigeria Data Protection Bureau into NDPC, as well.
• Postmaster General / CEO, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) — Tola Odeyemi.  Mr. Odeyemi succeeds Honourable Adepoju Adeyemi who was appointed by President Buhari.

Cyber Era NG learns that in line with the current dispensation’s determination to maximally leverage on Nigeria’s proven technological and digital economic prowess to reposition the nation’s economy toward greater financial inclusion, the President has approved the appointment of a Special Adviser to the President on Technology and Digital Economy  in Idris Alubankudi.. 

Meanwhile, until his appointment as the EVC/CEO at NCC,  Maida was the Executive Director, Technology & Operations at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS). He is  seasoned-technical professional with over 15 years’ multi-functional and international experience in FinTech & Telecoms & Enterprise Technology.

Prior to his appointment at NIBSS, Aminu was Chief Technology Officer(CTO) at the Nigerian based FinTech Arca Payments Network and Senior Manager at Cisco Systems UK.

He holds an MEng in Information Systems Engineering from Imperial College London and a PhD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Bath UK.

The appointments of Maida, Egerton-Idehen and Adeyemi are, however, subject to confirmation by the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly-The Senate.