President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman as the Executive Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
He succeeds Jalal Ahmad Arabi who was appointed acting chairman in October last year.
Arabi was grilled by the EFCC over alleged mismanagement and diversion of parts of the N90bn released by the Federal Government to subsidize the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
A statement issued on Monday by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) informed that Professor Usman is a renowned scholar with qualifications from two Islamic centres of excellence – the University of Madinah and Peshawar University, Pakistan.
He is also well-grounded in Hajj operations, having served as the Chairman of Kano State Pilgrims Board, and successfully superintended the operations of the largest quota of state pilgrims in the country.
The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
The statement said that the President expects the new Chairman of NAHCON to discharge his duties with integrity, transparency, and utmost fidelity to the nation.
President Bola Tinubu, on Monday also sacked the Managing Director/Chief Executive Office, Mr Chiedu Ugbo, after eight years in office.
Ugbo, a lawyer, was appointed in June 2016, in an acting capacity but later confirmed as a substantive Managing Director in August 2016.
Tinubu in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, also appointed Engineer Jennifer Adighije to replace Ugbo.
The new NDPHC Chief Executive Officer, Adighije, according to the statement, is an experienced engineer with vast competencies across management functions in the private and public sectors.
She holds a master’s degree in Wireless Networks & Telecommunications from Queen Mary University of London, UK, and a bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
The president also appointed six Executive directors to serve as new management members of NDPHC.
The newly appointed EDs are; Engineer Abdullahi Kassim — Executive Director (Generation); Engineer Bello Babayo Bello — Executive Director (Networks);
Mr. Emmmanuel Umeoji — Executive Director (Corporate Services); Mr. Omololu Agoro — Executive Director (Finance & Accounts); Engineer Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama — Executive Director (Strategy & Commercial); and
Barrister Steven Andzenge — Executive Director (Legal Services).
Tinubu, however, tasked the new members of the management of the company to deploy their expertise and experience to drive NDPHC’s mandate of effectively managing the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP).
