Yesterday, President Bola Tinubu removed the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and replaced him with Aminu Maida.
Maida was Executive Director of Technology and Operations at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems PLC prior to this appointment. He also held positions as Solutions Architect/Senior Manager at Cisco and CTO/Co-Founder at ARCA Payments Company Ltd. He holds a Ph.D. in Signal Processing from Bath University.
The removal of Danbatta was disclosed in a statement by Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale, which also outlined a reorganization of the agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.
Ngelale also announced the appointment of a new Special Adviser to the President on Technology and Digital Economy, Idris Alubankudi, in accordance with President Tinubu’s desire to reposition the nation’s economy toward greater financial inclusion by maximizing Nigeria’s technological and digital economic prowess.
The termination of Danbatta came as a surprise to the ICT sector professionals because he was only reappointed for a five-year second term in office, in July 2020, meaning he had roughly two years away from completing his tenure.
Tukur Mohammed Lawal, the newly designated MD/CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), was also removed from his position by the President.
Lawal was appointed in December 2022, following Dr. Abimbola Alale’s retirement as managing director. President Tinubu announced Nkechi Egerton-Idehen in lieu of Lawal.
The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) was also impacted by the reorganization, as its Postmaster General /CEO, Hon. Adepoju Adeyemi, was divested of his position and Tola Odeyemi was appointed as the new Postmaster General /CEO.
The President also renewed the appointments of the heads of some agencies, including the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), whose director general and chief executive officer Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi was requested to remain in his position.
The President also renewed Dr. Vincent Olatunji’s position as National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).