President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Muhammad Babangida, son of former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, as the Chairman of the newly restructured Bank of Agriculture (BOA), signalling a renewed drive to strengthen the nation’s agricultural financing system.
Babangida, 53, is a graduate of the European University in Montreux, Switzerland, where he earned both a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Public Relations and Business Communication. He further enhanced his corporate leadership credentials at Harvard Business School’s Executive Program in Corporate Governance in 2002.
The President’s decision to name Babangida as head of the apex agricultural finance institution comes amid ongoing reforms to reposition the Bank of Agriculture as a cornerstone of food security, rural development, and agro-industrial transformation.
In a statement released by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday, the Presidency also unveiled seven additional appointments to key federal agencies, reflecting what it described as the administration’s commitment to “merit, competence, and regional inclusion.”
Full List of New Appointees:
- Lydia Kalat Musa (Kaduna State), Chairman, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA)
Musa is expected to bring fresh insights into the management and expansion of Nigeria’s oil and gas investment enclaves, a critical non-oil revenue frontier. - Jamilu Wada Aliyu (Kano State), Chairman, National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC)
Aliyu’s mandate will involve driving innovation in curriculum development and educational policy research nationwide. - Hon. Yahuza Ado Inuwa (Kano State), Chairman, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON)
Inuwa will oversee Nigeria’s quality assurance framework and consumer protection mandate, particularly around manufacturing and industrial standards. - Sanusi Musa, SAN (Kano State), Chairman, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR)
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Musa’s legal and diplomatic background is expected to boost Nigeria’s capacity for peacebuilding and conflict mediation both domestically and within the West African sub-region. - Prof. Al-Mustapha Alhaji Aliyu (Sokoto State), Director-General, Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA)
A professor of international relations, Aliyu will lead the push to deepen Nigeria’s technical and scientific collaborations across the African continent. - Sanusi Garba Rikiji (Zamfara State), Director-General, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN)
Rikiji, a former Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, is expected to coordinate Nigeria’s trade policy and strategic engagement in global trade frameworks. - Mrs. Tomi Somefun (Oyo State), Managing Director, National Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC)
A seasoned banker and former CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Somefun’s appointment underscores the administration’s emphasis on revitalising power-generating communities through infrastructure and social investment. - Dr. Abdulmumini Mohammed Aminu-Zaria (Kaduna State), Executive Director, Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC).
A hydrologist and environmental expert, Dr. Aminu-Zaria is expected to lead Nigeria’s integrated approach to sustainable water resource management.
The statement from the Presidency noted that all the appointments are with immediate effect, adding that President Tinubu expects the new appointees to bring “professional excellence, patriotism, and integrity” to their respective roles.
These appointments form part of the President’s broader governance reforms aimed at enhancing service delivery and positioning Nigeria for economic competitiveness in agriculture, energy, education, trade, and sustainable development.
