Nine days after he was sworn in as 7th executive governor of Kwara State, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq made his first set of appointments penultimate Friday. In a statement by the Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Agboola Olanrewaju, the appointees are Aminu Adisa Logun, Chief of Staff; Mamman Saba Jibril, SSG and Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary. Logun is a pioneer industrialist in Ilorin and an alumnus of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Jos. The Ilorin born Logun was the chairman of the 80-member Kwara State Transition Committee set up by the governor preparatory to his swearing-in. An alumnus of Barewa College, Zaria, Logun attended the King’s College, Lagos; had a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Southborough University of Technology; and a Master’s of Science (M.Sc.) from the Birmingham University, both in the United Kingdom. He, at various times worked in Lever Brothers, Port Sunlight, UK; Cerekem Arhus, Denmark; North Brewery Limited Kano; Ajaokuta Steel Company; and the Nigeria Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe. He was also a General Manager at the New Nigeria Development Company. The SSG, Mamma Saba Jibril, who hails from Dumagi in Kwara North, was until his appointment , Head of the Geography Department at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Geography, Master’s of Science (M.Sc.) in Geography and Planning, and PhD in Geography. He specializes in Remote Sensing Applications). Jibril is a member of the Association of Nigeria Geographers and Cartographic Association of Nigeria. He has published several articles in local and foreign journals. The Chief Press Secretary, Mr Rafiu Ajakaye holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and International Studies and he is currently pursuing a Master’s degree (M.A.) in History and Diplomacy, both from the Lagos State University (LASU). He hails from Alabe in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state. He was until his appointment the Nigerian correspondent of Anadolu Agency, a Turkish semi-official news medium and world’s fifth largest news agency. Ajakaye has reported for various local and international news media. He has 15 years experience in active journalism as a politics and development journalist. He worked at the Daily Independent where he was at various times a Trainee Reporter, Reporter, Senior Reporter, Acting News Editor for the weekend titles and Foreign Editor for the newspaper. He had also worked on the Politics Desk of the paper, and he was the coordinator of its Development page for years. He has also contributed articles to various international news platforms. He has vast experience in election reporting in and outside of Nigeria. While Ajakaye’s appointment appeals to AbdulRazaq’s oft-stated belief in empowering qualified young people to achieve their potentials, his CoS and SSG picks speak to his determination to run an efficient and knowledge-based administration. Easy-going and soft-spoken Ajakaye has been a voice synonymous with the former opposition camp for years. He also served as media aide to Dele Belgore (SAN) as ACN governorship candidate in 2011.
