October 16, (THEWILL) – President Bola Tinubu has sworn in three newly appointed ministers, including Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Bio-Ibrahim Jamila and Ayodele Olawande.
The swearing-in ceremony took place inside the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja.
The President had on September 17, 2023, nominated Jamila and Olawande as Minister of Youth and Minister of State for Youth, respectively. He also requested the Senate to screen Balarabe Lawal as minister from Kaduna.
Lawal, who served as Secretary to the Government under former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, replaced his principal in Tinubu’s cabinet as Minister of Environment.
Jamila, 37, hails from Kwara State. She is a medical doctor, politician, development expert and advocate of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Olawande is a community development expert and youth leader in the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).
He most recently served in the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Innovation from 2019 to 2023.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara, and Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, were among those who witnessed the swearing-in ceremony.
The brief swearing-in ceremony preceded the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
Among cabinet members at the FEC meeting are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume; the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan; and National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
All the Ministers, including Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; Health, Prof Ali Pate; Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edu; and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari attended the meeting.
The Council also observed a minute of silence in mourning for one-time Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mobolaji Ajose-Adeogun, who died recently.
Ajose-Adeogun, who died at the age of 96, was appointed the Minister of Federal Capital in 1976 by the Murtala Mohammed military regime and served in the position till 1979.
