Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Gudu District and presided over by Justice M. Osho-Adebiyi, on Wednesday adjourned to January 19, 2025 a divorce case instituted by Mrs. Loretta Adikamkwu against her husband, Samuel Eziafa Adikamkwu, a former top official of the United Bank for Africa (UBA).

The mother of four, Mrs. Adikamkwu has dragged her husband of over 31 years to court for divorce over abandonment of the family for more than four years and alleged infidelity.

According to court document seen by our reporter with Suit number PET/073/2023, Mrs. Adikamkwu alleged that her husband packed out of their matrimonial home at Recreation Drive, Cooperative Villas, Badore, Ajah, Lagos and removed almost all his belongings therefrom (which included personal chattels, clothing and six vehicles of assorted brands) leaving behind the petitioner only vehicle (a Toyota land Cruiser) he gave to her some years back.

She further alleged that Mr. Adikamkwu withdrew all financial support and upkeep to the family, prompting her to desperately begin to dispose of all her belongings, in order to feed herself, the children and meet urgent Sundry costs, arising from the running of the home.

She also alleged in Paragraph 6(c) of her petition that after her husband abandoned his family, he was said to have been cohabiting with a lady called Miss Stella Umejuru with whom he regularly travels outside Lagos for business.

Mrs. Adikamkwu declared that her husband, who was formerly a Lecturer at Bendel State University, (now Ambrose Alli University), Ekpoma before Ndidi Elumelu, his friend, facilitated his employment by the United Bank for Africa (UBA), has no reason whatsoever not to cater for his family as he is now engaged in booming property business after leaving the bank.

According to the lady, who is a graduate of Bendel State University, she would have been financially independent and be in position to cater for herself and the children but for her husband who stopped her from working several years ago.

She stressed that because of the financial difficulties she was facing with her children she was compelled to sell the Toyota land Cruiser which her husband gave to her some years back to maintain the house that was dilapidating, settle numerous bills, including electricity and other sundry expenses.

The lady lamented that her husband got furious when he heard she had sold the car and he succeeded in retrieving the vehicle from a car dealer and the issue is now a subject of police investigation as some unknown persons have been stalking her and threatening her life since the family feud erupted.

However, the Respondent vehemently denies the averments contained in paragraph 6(c) of the petition and states that he does not know, neither is he acquainted with anybody ( lady) called Miss Stella Umejuru, and denies that he lives or travels with either the said lady or any lady at all.

The Respondent also denied the assertions contained in paragraph 6(d) of the petition and denied that he has committed adultery or that he has deserted the petitioner.

He admitted he is no longer living in the family house in Lagos as he had to “temporally relocate to Abuja when he secured a Contract Appointment with The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc (AEDC) from 2021 to June, 2024.

Mr. Adikamkwu added an affidavit in response to his wife’s petition that he “is not aware that there is any debt burden on the family, but states that if there is any such debt, it is personal to the petitioner.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Adikamkwu has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over issues arising from the sale of the Toyota Land Cruiser which her husband gave her several years ago.

The letter to the IGP dated 4 October, 2024 titled “SOS-request for urgent intervention in a case of forgery, threat to lives and high handedness by officers of the Bar Beach Police Station, and Zone 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos” was written on her behalf by one of her Lawyers, Benjamin Nwaokenye, Esq of Integrity Partners law firm, Abuja.

Part of the letter reads: “We are solicitors to Mrs. Loretta Adikamkwu (hereinafter referred to as “Our client”, at whose behest, we act in this matter. We write to seek your urgent intervention in a looming threat to the life of our client, and a seeming case of forgery perpetrated against her, by Ojebola and Messrs, Sam Adikamkwu, Segun Ajide, Gbenga ASP Churchill of the Bar Beach Police Station, Lagos.

To put this matter in the right perspective, we are reliably informed by our aforesaid client that: (a) She was hitherto married to one Mr. Sam Adikamkwu , from whom she is now separated and now locked in a bitter judicial process, in a petition for divorce in PET/073/2023, at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja).

“(b) The aforesaid Mr. Sam Adikamkwu, prior to the aforesaid divorce proceedings, vacated their Badore (Ajah) residence, where he hitherto resided with our client, and removed almost all his belongings therefrom (which included personal chattels, clothing and six vehicles of assorted brands) leaving behind our client, only vehicle (a Toyota land Cruiser) he gave to our client some years back, and strangely, a short machine gun, which was discovered in his wardrobe, in the course of cleaning the house, having forgotten to lock the bedroom door. ( see attached pictures)

The aforesaid Mr. Adikamkwu, it must be reiterated, withdrew all financial support and upkeep to our client and the family, prompting our client to desperately begin to dispose of all her belongings, in order to feed herself, the children and meet urgent Sundry costs, arising from the running of the home.

“In the course of disposing of her personal belongings, our client contacted one Mr. Segun Ajide, a car dealer, to assist in disposing off her Toyota land cruiser, and thereupon delivered to him, the Original custom and purchase papers of the vehicle, which the dealer demanded.

“Mr. Ajide sold our client’s vehicle, debited her with some colossal costs and remitted the balance to our client.

“Weeks afterwards, Mr. Ajide contacted our client to inform her that the vehicle had been impounded from the purchaser by Mr. Adikamkwu, with the help of one Mr. Churchill of the Bar Beach Police Station, and thereupon requested our client to intervene.

Our client insisted on intervening only if a formal invitation was sent to her, which the aforesaid persons could not procure, but resorted to harassing our client.

“Mr. Segun was later to inform our client that the vehicle had been released to Mr. Sam Adikamkwu by the Bar Beach Police Station

“Upon the request of our client to Mr. Segun Ajide for copies of all documents related to the sale, Mr. Ajide was evasive, until Mr. Adikamkwu filed his answer to our client’s petition wherein, it was discovered that several documents were forged by Mr. Ajide and the eventual purchaser Mr, Odebola, in the alleged sale without probable cause. .

“Prior to discovering the forgery, our client had been trailed by strange people, who at different times followed her home, and even laid siege on her place of resident at Recreation Estate Badore, forcing her to flee for her safety, to an unknown location.

Our client a few days back, received a WhatsApp invitation from the Nigeria Police Zone 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos, which directed her to meet up with someone, only whose phone numbers were stated in the invitation, but upon calling the line, our client was shocked, that the number was not allocated, causing more anxiety that, it must be a setup.

“Sir, our client is unable to carry on her normal business and live a normal life because, she has been living in fear for her safety, believing her life is endangered by the activities of Messrs. Adikamkwu, Ajide and Odebola, who from all indications, are behind her travails, having opted to brow’ beating her into retrieving the vehicle for them, and they are all men of means who can effectuate their threats.

“We are informed by our client also that, before the situation got to this dimension, Messrs. Ajide and Odebola, who from all indications, are behind her travails, had consistently called our client to know her where about, and had requested she came with them to see some policemen, without any arrest or invitation.

Sir, we solicit your esteemed indulgence to cause an investigation into this matter, to safeguard the life of our client from people who are determined to use their police friends, to intimidate and endanger our client, taking into consideration: (a) The forgeries executed by Messrs. Segun Ajide, Gbenga Ojebola and Sam Adikamkwu, using policemen from Bar Beach Police station, far removed from Ajah division of the police, in an attempt to cover same up, and revalidate their actions.

(b) The threat to our client’s life in the whole circumstance.

(d) The release of the vehicle By the Bar Beach police station, to Mr. Adikamkwu, without any probable cause.”

Despite the huge investment in the power sector, the national grid collapsed about 105 times under the administrations of President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, The PUNCH reports.

Findings on penultimate Sunday showed that Nigeria secured about 10 loans worth $4.36bn from the World Bank over the past decade to address key challenges in its power sector.

Although not all 10 World Bank loans have been disbursed completely, the Federal Government and other multilateral agencies have supported the country’s power sector financially.

They have provided billions of naira to revamp the industry but despite these funds, the sector is still struggling, witnessing incessant grid collapses, which has repeatedly plunge the country into widespread blackouts.

Both Buhari and Tinubu, members of the All Progressives Congress, promised to turn things around positively in the power sector.

However, it appears the challenges of the power sector overwhelmed the Buhari administration, which took over former President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Congress.

Data obtained from different sources, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, showed that the grid collapsed approximately 93 times during the eight-year rule of Buhari, from June 2015 to May 2023.

The national power grid, according to NERC, is a vast network of electrical transmission lines that link power stations to end-use customers across the country and it is designed to function within specific stability boundaries, including voltage (330kV ± 5.0 per cent) and frequency (50Hz ± 0.5 per cent).

“Any deviation from these stability ranges can result in decreased power quality and, in severe cases, cause widespread power outages ranging from a partial collapse of a section of the grid to a full system collapse.

“When the electricity demand is higher than the supply, the grid frequency drops. Conversely, if supply surpasses demand, the frequency increases. In reaction to the grid operating at a frequency outside of the normal operation range (especially when the frequency is too low), safety settings on generation units may cause the units to shut down.

“This often exacerbates the frequency imbalance on the grid thereby causing more generation units to shut down resulting in a full or partial system collapse,” the regulator explained.

The PUNCH reports that anytime the grid collapses, the majority of electricity consumers are thrown into darkness, affecting businesses and social activities.

Industry data showed that under Buhari, the grid collapsed three times in 2015, 28 times in 2016, 24 times in 2017, 13 times in 2018, and 11 times in 2019.

The grid frequency appeared to improve from 2020 to 2023 as the grid collapsed 14 times within this period until Buhari vacated office on May 29, 2023.

It was observed that the Tinubu administration carried on with the grid collapse cases, with three of such incidents occurring between June and December 2023.

Nigerians endured more nationwide blackouts on September 14, 2023 when the grid collapsed due to a fire on a major transmission line.

On September 20, 2023, The PUNCH reported that Nigeria witnessed another round of widespread blackouts across the country the preceding day as the national power grid collapsed again, making it the third grid collapse in about five days during that period.

Since January 2024 till date, the grid has collapsed about nine times. Last week, the grid collapsed three times with its attendant blackouts, sparking reactions from Nigerians. As of now, the Tinubu administration has recorded no fewer than 12 collapses in 16 months.

On Saturday, the national grid collapsed – third in the week – as power generation went off around 8:16am. This was after the grid tripped off on Monday. It went off again on Tuesday when it was being restored.

Nigeria secured about 10 loans worth $4.36bn from the World Bank over the past decade to address the power sector challenges.

The loans, which are aimed at supporting infrastructural development, distribution reforms, and renewable energy initiatives, are at different stages of progress.

While some are still disbursing, others have been signed but are yet to begin disbursement. However, one loan approved in 2014 has been terminated.

Findings by The PUNCH from data sourced from the global financial institution revealed that four loans, amounting to $2bn, have been signed but are yet to disburse any funds.

These include the Sustainable Power and Irrigation Project, valued at $500m, which was signed in September 2024, and three components under the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up Project, totalling $750m, approved in December 2023.

Five loans are actively disbursing funds, though large portions of their allocations remain undrawn.

These include the Power Sector Recovery Performance-Based Operation, the North Core Regional Power Interconnector, the Nigeria Electrification Project, and the NG-Electricity Transmission Project.

Together, these projects represent $2.06bn, or 47.25 per cent of the total loan portfolio.

Out of the five loans currently under disbursement, Nigeria is already making repayments on three of them.

One example is the Nigeria Electrification Project, which has disbursed $269.67m from a total allocation of $350m.

Similarly, the North Core Regional Power Interconnector has released $15.74m from a $27.4m facility. The NG-Electricity Transmission Project, with two components worth $486m, is also disbursing funds while repayments are ongoing.

These projects reflect the country’s efforts to balance loan repayments with the need for critical infrastructure investment.

One project has been terminated. The Nigeria Power Sector Guarantees Project, initially valued at $125m, was cancelled on May 1, 2014, without any funds being disbursed.

The terminated project was aimed at improving electricity supply for consumers by supporting private sector-led investments in power generation and distribution.

It was designed to back key reforms in Nigeria’s power sector through a series of partial risk guarantees.

These guarantees were intended to support three key areas: greenfield Independent Power Producers’ projects, the privatisation of Generation Companies, and the turnaround of distribution companies.

However, this project was terminated, and nothing was disbursed by the World Bank. There was no available information on the reason for the termination.

The PUNCH learnt that World Bank loans were usually tied to targets, and failure to meet such targets would either lead to a delay in disbursement or outright cancellation of the loan.

Despite the World Bank’s funding support over the years, delays in disbursement remain a significant concern, as $2.96bn of the total $4.36bn are still undisbursed.

The largest disbursement so far has been recorded under the Nigeria Electrification Project, which focuses on improving rural and off-grid energy access. So far, $269.67m has been released from the $350m earmarked for the project.

Notably, a substantial portion of the loans was secured under President Tinubu’s administration, highlighting the government’s renewed push to revitalise the country’s energy sector.

Since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, the World Bank has approved new electricity loans over $1.901bn, representing 44 per cent of the total loan portfolio over the decade.

In December 2023, Tinubu’s government secured $750m for the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up Project, a move aligned with the administration’s focus on expanding renewable energy.

Also, the Sustainable Power and Irrigation Project, valued at $500m, was signed in September 2024 to enhance power generation and agricultural irrigation.

While the loans reflect a strategic commitment to addressing Nigeria’s energy deficit through renewable energy and infrastructure development, the slow pace of disbursements raises questions about project implementation and the government’s ability to unlock the full potential of these funds.

Despite the loans, the Nigerian power sector still suffers incessant blackouts, metering gaps, and low access to electricity, especially in rural areas.

Many industries, small businesses, and companies, among others, have collapsed as a result of the poor supply of electricity in Nigeria. This is despite the privatisation of the successor power generation and distribution companies in November 2013.

Nigeria’s power firms generate and supply between 3,500 megawatts and 5,500MW of electricity to over 200 million citizens across the country.

There is the issue of low power supply. For instance, the grid delivers only 1,000MW to a city of 25 million people. By contrast, Shanghai, with roughly the same population, supplies more than 30,000MW at peak demand.

Consumers kick

In an interview with one of our correspondents, the Convener of the Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, Princewill Okorie, expressed worry that electricity customers, especially those on estimated billing, continued to pay for darkness as the grid kept collapsing.

Okorie alleged that substandard equipment must have been used for power infrastructure.

According to him, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Power pay more attention to the distribution companies and their revenue, ignoring the rights of the consumers, especially in the area of metering.

He challenged the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, asking what it had been doing to protect electricity consumers.

“What is the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission doing? Are they not the ones to understand the challenges of consumers and raise them? Rather than do that, they play to the hands of the Discos,” Okorie said.

He added, “Consumers don’t have electricity supply after you’ve raised their bills to over N200 per kilowatt-hour as Band A customers. Then, those who are not metered will be billed as if they have power supplies for 24 hours. The consumers are at the receiving end in all of these; their businesses have collapsed. How will they make money? The same consumer that is funding infrastructure; the same consumer that is funding metering, the same consumer that is paying the bill?

“What is the quality of materials used in building the grid? Who are the professionals that are building the grid? How can the grid be stable when transformers are connected to the grid at the weekend and at night without supervision? When substandard materials are being used all over, how can you build a grid that is stable?”

He suggested that stakeholders had to proffer solutions, with a monitoring committee to oversee happenings in the power sector.

“No representation for the consumers at the ministry; the consumers are seen as cash cows, their views are not sought,” Okorie submitted.

Also, consumers in the Federal Capital Territory called for the dismissal of personnel responsible for managing the grid.

According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, consumers residing in Kuje, Area 10, Gwagwalada, and surrounding areas voiced their frustrations over the frequent grid failures, urging the government to replace those overseeing it.

They expressed their weariness of repeated grid collapses and insisted that the government sacked the current managers.

A resident of Kuje, Bisi Afolabi, believes those responsible for managing the grid are not capable of handling the job.

According to him, since the grid frequently collapses, the government should dismiss those in charge and hire competent personnel.

Similarly, a barber, Samuel Maduka, expressed his disappointment with the grid’s management..

“The government should address this issue of constant grid collapses. If it means sacking everyone involved to resolve it, then so be it,” Maduka remarked.

Mrs Uduak Essien, a cold room owner in Gwagwalada, pointed out that despite the significant investments in the power sector, the grid continued to collapse.

“If the people in charge are not competent, they should be replaced with those who can manage the grid effectively,” she urged.

Public hearing

Baffled by the repeated cases of grid collapse, NERC is set to hold a stakeholders forum on Thursday.

The commission said the public hearing was in line with Section 48, subsection 1 of the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended).

According to a statement on its social media handles on Sunday, NERC stated that the hearing would be held at its Hearing Room, Fourth Floor, Plot 1387, Cadastral Zone A0O, Central Business District, Abuja, by 10 am prompt.

“In line with Section 48, subsection 1 of the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is mandated to conduct public hearings on critical issues relating to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

“The commission has noted with concern the recent escalating incidence of grid disturbances often leading to marked outage in several states thus reversing many of the gains recently achieved in reducing infrastructure deficit and improving grid stability.

“In this regard, the commission hereby invites NESI stakeholders, civil society organisations, and the general public to a hearing.”

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NERC, in a similar development, expressed worry over the recent escalating cases of grid disturbances.

NERC said the incidents often led to marked outages in several states thus reversing many of the gains recently achieved in reducing infrastructural deficit and improving grid stability.

In a statement, the commission disclosed that Saturday’s outage was triggered by an explosion of a current transformer at the Jebba transmission station at 0815hrs and an associated cascade of power plants’ shutdown arising from the loss of load.

It added, “In line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023, the unbundling of the System Operator function (ISO) out of the Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc is ongoing with the expectation that an independent System Operator would engender more discipline in grid management and optimised investment in infrastructure.”

In pursuit of finding a permanent solution to the challenges of the national grid, the commission said it shall shortly conduct an investigative public hearing with a view to identifying immediate and remote causes of recurring incidents of grid disturbances and widespread outages.”The date and venue of the public hearing will shortly be announced in the national dailies and stakeholders are encouraged to participate,” NERC added.

Regional grids

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said last week that there was the need to have power grids in different regions or states to put an end to the incessant grid collapses.

The minister, who spoke while unveiling Hexing Livoltek in Lagos, said grid collapses were almost inevitable in Nigeria given the deplorable state of the country’s power infrastructure.

According to him, having multiple power grids in each region and state would ensure stability.

“We keep talking about grid collapse. Grid collapse, grid collapse, whether it’s a total collapse, partial collapse, or slight trip-off. This is almost inevitable as it is today, given the state of our power infrastructure, the infrastructure is in deplorable conditions, so why won’t you have trip-offs? Why won’t you have collapses, either total or partial? It will continue to remain like this until we can overhaul the entire infrastructure. What we do now is to make sure that we manage it,” he said.

The International Energy Agency said Nigeria’s grid continues to face issues due to aged infrastructure and vandalism.

Deterioration of power infrastructure increased dependency on backup generators for 40 per cent of electricity consumption in Nigeria.

In a report released recently, the NERC expressed concerns over the low overall availability factor of the 27 power plants in the power supply industry in Nigeria, saying the largest driver of plant unavailability in 2023 was mechanical outages.

“Approximately 38.04 per cent (4,802.80MW) of the total installed capacity of grid-connected plants was unavailable due to mechanical outages in 2023.

“The age of many of the power plants (as of December 31 2023, the average plant in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry is 21 years old) and challenges with the maintenance of generating units are the biggest driving factors behind the mechanical outages,” the report stated.

Other contributory factors to the challenges in the industry include a lack of liquidity at the upstream segment of the NESI, caused by the gross underpayment of generation companies’ invoices by distribution companies (market shortfall) and the government (unpaid subsidy costs).

“Without sufficient cash flows, GenCos cannot maintain their generation units, leading to extended outages. The liquidity challenges have also prevented operators of the privatised generation assets from recovering capacity that had been inoperable before privatisation,” the commission noted, listing gas supply as another major hindrance in the sector.

In 2023, the gross generation on the national grid was 36,710.38 gigawatt-hours, which translates to an average hourly generation of 4,190.68MWh/h (equation 7.2), the NERC disclosed.

In its recommendation, the commission said, “To manage the overall availability of plants on the grid, the System Operator must implement the provisions of section 22.3 of the Grid Code on scheduling outages in a way that does not put the grid at risk of low gross availability.

“Furthermore, Gencos must engage with the gas subsector to align outages on the gas infrastructure (e.g. pipeline maintenance activities) with planned plant outages.

Dr Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda (Minister-designate Humanitarian Affairs  and Poverty Reduction ) was born on the 8th of August, 1968 in Dungung, Kanke Local Government  in Plateau State, to the family of a clergy, the  late Rev and Mrs Toma Yilwatda.

He was Plateau State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year’s election.

He got his First Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering in 1992 from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi and his Master of Engineering and PhD from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka respectively, majoring in Digital systems engineering.

He received training on Building Electronic Governance Structure at the United Nations University International Institute for Software Tech., Macau, China.

He has served as project consultants on the first Integrated Financial Management Information System for the Ministry of Finance, CBN, FOS, OAGF, Debt Management Office, OAuGF, National Planning Commission and Budget Office.

He was also part of the team that worked on the grant by World Bank to implement a Unified Network and ICT Solution for Nigeria Education and Research Network (NgREN) through the World Bank STEP-B project.

Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi (Mnister-Designate Labour and Employment)  was born in 1953 in Dingyadi, Sokoto State. He had his Secondary Education at Government College, Sokoto and attended the School of Basic Studies for a two-year course. He is a 1978 graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He represented Bodinga Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives.

He was one time, the Secretary to the Sokoto State Government and Chairman, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) Abuja.

He was appointed the Minister of Police Affairs in 2019 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Bianca Odinakachukwu Olivia Odumegwu-Ojukwu (Minister of State-designate, Foreign Affairs), born 5 August 1968, is a politician, diplomat, lawyer, business woman and  former beauty queen..

The widow of former Biafra leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, she is a multiple international pageant titleholder, having won Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Miss Africa, and Miss Intercontinental.

She attended Ackworth School, Pontefract, St Andrews College, Cambridge, and Cambridge Tutorial College where she obtained her A-levels. She began a combined honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law at the University of Buckingham, but transferred to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka after her father, insisted she concentrated solely on Law and join the family business.

In 2016, she received a master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Alfonso X el Sabio University in Spain.

In 2011, Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs by President Goodluck Jonathan.

She became Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana and later, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain in 2012.

Dr. Jumoke Oduwole (Minister-designate  Industry, Trade and Investment)  is an academic, former government adviser, and advocate. She is currently a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.

Prior to this, she served as Special Adviser to President Buhari on Ease of Doing Business from August 2019 to May 2023.

Before her appointment to this role, Dr. Jumoke was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment in the Office of the Vice President. Her team was responsible for Nigeria moving up an unprecedented 39 places in the World Bank’s flagship Doing Business Report.

Dr. Oduwole  led a corporate banking unit of the telecommunications sector team in Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s Corporate Banking Group. She was an investment banker with FCMB Capital Markets Ltd from 2000 to 2003.

She was on the boards of Ecobank Nigeria Plc and Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA), a leading HIV/AIDS  advocacy NGO; as well as the Advisory Board of the “Know Your Constitution” Initiative, a civil liberties movement pioneered by a United Nations Young Ambassador for Peace.

Dr. Oduwole  graduated from University of Lagos with a Bachelor’s degree in Law in 1998 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1999.

She obtained an LL.M. degree in Commercial Law from Cambridge University in 2000, where she was a DFID-Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholar. In 2007, Dr. Oduwole received a master’s degree in International Legal Studies from Stanford University and obtained her doctorate degree in International Trade and Development from Stanford Law School.

Mukhtar Maiha is the Managing Director of Zaidi Farms Limited. If cleared he will be the pioneer minister of Livestock Development.

Yusuf Abdullahi Ata (Minister-designate Housing and Urban Development) was born on the 22nd June, 1962 at Fagge Local Government of Kano State. He started his Quranic education at the age of three and later began his western education in 1968 at Fagge Primary School.

He attended the Kano Community Commercial College, which is now called Aminu Kano Commercial College for his secondary education. He obtained a degree in Economics from the Bayero University, Kano.

Ata was first elected as member, Kano State House of Assembly to represent Fagge constituency in 1999. He served for three terms after winning elections in 2011 and 2015.

Ata became Speaker, Kano State House of Assembly in 2021 when the former Speaker, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, resigned, following attempts to impeach him.

Dr Suwaiba Said Ahmad (Minister of State -designate  Education) is a trained educationist, gender advocate and consultant. She served in various capacities in the  university including level coordinator, examination officer, PG coordinator, Sub Dean Academics, and Head of Department, Science Education.

Her consultancy portfolio centres on governance and development. Dr Ahmad  research interests  focuses around political economy and institutional analysis, policy planning, development and strategy, capacity building and training.

She  has participated in funded researches as a consultant, including for the British Council (won a research grant in 2015 as team lead), Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria (EDOREN), Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) and Aafaaq Educational Foundation.