There are feelers that President Muhammadu Buhari may have settled for one-time Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, CFR, as his new Chief of Staff.
NATIONAL ACCORD could not immediately confirm this. Although Younews and a number of other online platforms carried the story, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, when contacted on telephone Tuesday afternoon, said “I’ve not been briefed.”
If confirmed, the highly respected Gambari will succeed late Abba Kyari, the President’s former COS who died last month from complications from Coronavirus.
Born November 24, 1944, in Ilorin, Kwara State, Gambari, is a Nigerian scholar and diplomat, who served as Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985.
Gambari was appointed by the Secretary-General of United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur effective from 1 January 2010.
He is currently the Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and other Issues for the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Previously, he served as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). On June 10, 2005, he was appointed and assumed the post on July 1 of that year.
On March 4, 2013, Ibrahim Gambari was named by the Kwara State Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University, making him the ceremonial head of the university who presides over convocations to award degrees and diplomas and also supports the vision and mission of the university in all respects, including fundraising, social, economic and academic goals.
Gambari is also co-chair of the Albright-Gambari Commission.
The State House Abuja had not confirmed Gambari’s appointment at the time of this report.
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.
Leave a Reply