Jonathan appoints news aides •As Alaibe resigns

Posted by admin Latest Politics, Niger Delta, Presidency Thursday, December 30th, 2010

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has appointed Mr Emmanuel Egbagbe, as his senior special assistant on Infrastructure Development Matters and Alhaji Saidu Yusuf Dutsi, as his senior special assistant on political matters.

The appointments came as Jonathan accepted the resignation of his Senior Special Assistant on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Timi Alaibe, who is seeking nomination to contest the governorship of Bayelsa State on the ticket of Labour Party (LP).

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, in Abuja, on Thursday, noted that Mr. Alaibe, had informed the president in a letter that he would be resigning his appointment with effect from Friday (today) to contest for the Governorship of Bayelsa State in the 2011 general election.

According to the statement, until his appointment, Egbagbe, who holds a Masters of Sciences Degree in Water Resources Systems Engineering from the University of California and was the best graduating student of Civil Engineering, at the University of Lagos in 1977, was the Director of Infrastructure Development at the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

Dutsi, who also holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Bayero University, Kano, has held various elective and appointive public posts in his native Katsina State and until his new appointment he was the Special Assistant on Political Matters to the Katsina State governor.

The statement said that both appointments which take effect from January 1, 2011 were to fill vacancies created by the appointment of Mr. Femi Ajayi (former SSA to the President on Social Development) as Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the death of Senator Polycarp Nwite (former SSA to the President on Political Matters).wp_posts