Kano, Kano state – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday, January 24, appointed board chairpersons for 42 federal organisations and a secretary to the board of the Civil Defence, Immigration, and Prisons Services Board (CDIPB).
TimesNow.com.ng reports that Tinubu has also appointed a new managing director (MD) for the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and a director-general (DG) for the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI).
President Tinubu directed the board chairpersons not to interfere with the management of the organisations, emphasising that their positions are non-executive.
All the appointments take immediate effect.
In this report, TimesNow.com.ng has highlighted the three political stakeholders from Kano state President Tinubu appointed heads of these key agencies’ boards. Kano is widely considered to be among one of the most politically-important states in Nigeria.
President Tinubu approved the appointment of Kano-born General Jibril Abdulmalik (Rtd) as the secretary of the Civil Defence, Immigration, and Prisons Services Board (CDIPB).
A seasoned security strategist, Gen. Abdulmalik served in the Nigerian Army and various security agencies and as the director of security in the Tinubu-Kashim Shettima presidential campaign council (PCC) during the 2023 general election.
A support group, Renewed Hope United Kingdom, said with his “extensive background” in military intelligence and security operations, “Gen. Abdulmalik is well-equipped to oversee policy formulation and operational strategies for Nigeria’s paramilitary agencies, ensuring enhanced national security, border control, and correctional reforms.”
Renewed Hope United Kingdom said via X:
Ganduje served as the governor of Kano state from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as Mallam Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s deputy governor twice, from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015.
He is a member and national chairman of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ganduje was appointed the national chairman of the APC by the party’s national executive committee (NEC) in August 2023 following the resignation of Abdullahi Adamu. Ganduje is a key ally of President Tinubu.
In January 2025, Tinubu appointed him as the board chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), an agency under the federal ministry of aviation.
Gawuna, a health personnel and politician, was named the chairman of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria. The institution provides long-term credit facilities to mortgage institutions in Nigeria.
In May 2022, Gawuna became the governorship candidate of the APC for the 2023 Kano state election but lost to the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). He had served as deputy governor of Kano state under Ganduje from 2018 to 2023.
Following Gawuna’s appointment, several APC supporters took to social media to extend their good wishes. Bashir Ahmad, ex-personal assistant to former President Muhammadu Buhari on new media, and one-time house of representatives hopeful, joined the well-wishers.
He wrote on his verified X page on Friday evening, January 24:
Earlier, TimesNow.com.ng reported that former Kano governor Ibrahim Shekarau is leading the northern elite in wooing southern bigwigs for an alliance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Sources disclosed that former head of state Yakubu Gowon and former President/one-time military leader Olusegun Obasanjo are among the supporters of Shekarau and others’ mission.
