List of Presidential Aides; Jonathan appoints special advisers

President Jonathan approved the appointment of 18 principal aides to assist him in the discharge of his constitutional obligations to the nation.

According to the appointments released by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim to newsmen in Abuja, Mr Mike Oghiadomhe was reappointed as the Chief of Staff to the President.

Also, Mr Mohammed Kachalla Abubakar was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President.

Curiously, President Jonathan also approved the appointment of Mrs Sarah Jibril as his Special Adviser on Ethics and Values. Jibril was a presidential aspirant of the PDP, who slugged it out with Jonathan at the party nomination level before the 2011 general election.

She had also vied for the position of number one citizen in 1999, 2003 and 2007 presidential elections.

Jonathan also appointed Senator Joy Emordi as Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters.

Senator Anyim, in a statement he personally signed, said the special advisers would be sworn in today by 2.00 p.m. at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to the list of the appointments, Professor Abubakar Sambo was appointed Adviser to the President on Energy. Until his appointment, Sambo was the Executive Secretary of Energy Commission of Nigeria.

While Ambassador Hassan Tukur was appointed Principal Secretary to the President, Mrs Sarah Akuben Pane was appointed Special Adviser to the President on Social Development.

Former Special Adviser to the President on New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Dr Tunji Olagunju, was also re-appointed to retain his position.

Others are Mr Oronto Douglas, Special Adviser to the President on Research and Strategy; Honourable Kingsley Kuku, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs; Dr Pius Olakunle Osunyikanmi, Special Adviser to the President on International Relations and Professor Dan Adebiyi, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties.

Other appointees included Dr Rueben Abati, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity; Mrs Asma’u Abdulkadir, Special Adviser to the President on Gender Issues; Nze Sullivan Akachukwu Nwa-kpo, Special Adviser to the President on Technical Matters; Yakubu Abdullahi, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters (Office of the Vice President); Mr Bashir Sufyan, Special Adviser to the President on Legal Matters (Office of the Vice President) and Senator Isaiah Ballat, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties (Office of the Vice-President).

During the question and answer session in the Senate, Dr Okonjo-Iweala said Nigerians lived beyond their means, adding that the government needed to encourage fiscal policy with intention of job creation.

The former Minister of Finance and Managing Director of the World Bank insisted that the main problems in the economy of the country had to do with creating jobs, saying that “we have unemployment rate of about 14 to 16 per cent, but very large under-employment.”

On the revaluation of the naira, she said “if we want to revalue the naira, this will not be the time to think about it.”

Speaking on why he resigned from her previous appointment, she said “I served the country for about three years and when I determined that I could no longer perform and give to the country the way that I would want, I resigned, which is the honourable thing to do, so I did not run away.”

Another nominee, Professor Barth Nnaji, said the outcome of investment in power sector would be in the independent power project (IPP), which would be in the quantum of 4,000 megawatts.

The immediate past Minister of Finance, Mr Oluse-gun Aganga, said the country had had deficit budgets for 10 years, adding that the deficit in 2010 was N1.1 trillion and in 2011, it was going to be more than that, despite the fiscal consolidation.