President Bola Tinubu has rolled out a fresh batch of appointments. The new positions span livestock development, senate matters, and a new Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA).
The announcements, delivered through separate statements on Saturday by presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale, highlight Tinubu’s latest efforts to shuffle the deck.
First up, Mr. Cornelius Oluwasegun Adebayo steps in as the new Executive Secretary/CEO of NALDA. Described as an engineer and community development expert, Adebayo’s role is to navigate Nigeria’s agricultural land development.
But in a country where promises of agricultural reforms have often fallen flat, the real question is whether Adebayo can bring any real change or if this is just another case of shuffling the same cards.
Adding another layer to this agricultural shake-up, Tinubu has appointed Idris Ajimobi as the Senior Special Assistant on Livestock Development. This role, linked to the recent creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development and the Presidential Committee on Livestock Reforms, is supposed to harness Nigeria’s agricultural potential. The grand aim? Sustainable economic growth, new industries and jobs, and ending the violent farmer-herder conflicts. Skeptics might wonder if this appointment is a genuine push for progress or just political theater.
In a nod to the ever-complicated relationship between Nigeria’s executive and legislative branches, Tinubu has named Senator Bashir Lado Mohammed as the Special Adviser on Senate Matters. A veteran politician from Kano State with a background as a former senator and ex-director-general of NAPTIP, Mohammed’s task is to foster better synergy between the executive and legislature. While the goal is improved government performance, one can’t help but wonder if this will be more of the same old political maneuvering that Nigeria is all too familiar with.
As these new appointees settle into their roles, Nigerians are left to watch and wait, hopeful yet wary, to see if these changes will bring about the promised progress or just more of the status quo.