- * Senator Femi Ojudu's Daughter, Moremi, Also Picked As Presidential Adviser
- As Ex-Lagos State Deputy Governor, Adejoke Orelope Adefulire, Returns As SSA On MDGs
By Janet Bassey (Governance Reporter)
Nigeria's Presidency, on Saturday, rolled out more names of new appointees of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Among the fresh presidential aides appointed to play various roles in Tinubu's government, is the 51 year-old current Head of Civil Service (HOS) of the Lagos State Government, Barrister Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Muri-Okunola who is one of the favoured acolytes of Tinubu and his former personal assistant (PA) when he was governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, was named the new Principal Private Secretary to the President.
The new youthful presidential scribe has been a visible player in the government of Lagos State all through the governorship tenures of Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akeem Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Hakeem Muri-Okunola acquired a Bachelor degree in Law from the Lagos State University (LASU) and a Master’s degree in International Business Law from the Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London. He was born on January 7, 1972 in Lagos Island.
He later, in 2005, became Tinubu's Executive Secretary of the Land Use and Allocation Committee, and was elevated to the position of permanent secretary and subsequently Head of Service in December 2018 during the administration of ex-Governor Ambode.
Apart from Hakeem, the Presidency also announced 15 more appointees of the President. They include, former deputy governor of Lagos, Adejoke Orelope Adefulire, who has been re-appointed as Senior Special Assistant to the President (SSAP) on Sustainable Development Goals.
Also, Ms Moremi Ojudu, first daughter of Senator Femi Ojudu, a renowned journalist, former lawmaker and the immediate-past Political Adviser to the former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Ojudu's daughter was named Senior Special Assistant to the president (SSAP) on Community Engagement in the South West. She was said to have supported Tinubu during his Presidential Campaign.
Other new Presidential appointees on Community Engagements in the North West, South East, North Central and North East geo-political zones include: Tanko Yakasai, Chioma Nweze, Abiodun Essiet and Abdulhamid Yahaya Abba.
The President, on Thursday and Friday, appointed his revenue adviser, Hon. Zaccheaus Adedeji and his former cabinet Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Yemi Cardoso, as Acting Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) respectively, for an initial terms of five years. NNL.