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INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 7570
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 0502
RUEHCD/AMCONSUL CIUDAD JUAREZ 0501
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 001694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR (AGAMA) 
DEPT OF ENERGY FOR CAROLYN GAY 
DEPT OF LABOR FOR SUDHA HALEY 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ECON-RELATED NEW MINISTER BIOS 
 
REF:  ABUJA 1638 
 
ABUJA 00001694  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The incoming Ministers come from a variety of 
backgrounds in keeping with Nigeria's ethnic diversity and several 
analysts have praised the appointments.  President Yar'adua will act 
as Minister of Energy, following the footsteps of his predecessor. 
Questions remain on several Ministers' expertise, particularly the 
junior ministers in the Energy Ministry, who have already admitted 
ignorance in their assigned portfolios.  Whether inexperience will 
hinder the ministers' duties to administrate and coordinate remains 
to be seen.  The following information provides bios on the recently 
inaugurated new cabinet ministers and their deputies responsible for 
economic, health and labor portfolios.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  On July 26, President Yar'adua inaugurated a new cabinet of 
ministers, and in the ministries of Energy, Finance, Commerce, 
Health, Mines and Steel Development, and Transport, appointed both 
Ministers and Ministers of State.  The Ministers of State are junior 
ministers, usually given responsibilities of lesser importance to 
the substantive minister, required to report to the substantive 
minister, and act in the minister's absence. 
. 
Minister of Finance 
------------------- 
. 
¶3.  Since June 1999, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman has been the Deputy 
Governor responsible for Domestic Monetary and Banking Policy in the 
Central Bank of Nigeria.  Usman has been Chairman and a Board member 
of a number of institutions, including Nigerian Export-Import Bank, 
Steering Committee of the Abuja Commodities Exchange, and the 
African Export-Import Bank in Cairo, Egypt.  In October 1994, Usman 
was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive, NAL Merchant Bank. 
Prior to that, he was Executive Director for International and 
Investments Sector, United Bank for Africa (1992 - 1993); and 
Corporate and International Banking, Union Bank of Nigeria (1993 - 
1994).  Usman has worked both in the private and public sectors as 
Director General of the Technical Committee on Privatization and 
Commercialization (1989 - 1991); General Manager NAL Merchant Bank 
(1985 - 1988); controller at the Nigerian Industrial Development 
Bank (1981 - 1985); lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 
(1976 - 1981); and Planning Officer at the Kano State Ministry of 
Economic Planning (1974 - 1976). 
 
¶4.  He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the 
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and proceeded to the London School of 
Economics and Political Science where he obtained a Masters degree 
in Economics in 1977 and a doctorate in 1980.  Usman is a recipient 
of the Nigerian National Honors Award of the "Officer of the Federal 
Republic (OFR)".  Usman was born on September 18, 1949 in Kano 
State. 
. 
Minister of State for Finance 
----------------------------- 
. 
¶5.  The Minister of State for Finance, Aderemi Babalola, is 
responsible for issues relating to domestic finance, customs, and 
the monthly federal allocation committee meetings, while the 
Minister of Finance is responsible for Nigeria's relationship with 
multilateral and bilateral institutions and overall management of 
fiscal policy.  Babalola is amiable and hardworking.  His experience 
working as part of management in two of the most profitable and well 
run banks in Nigeria should be a plus for him in his new 
assignment. 
 
¶6.  Since September 2005, Babalola has been Executive Director at 
First Bank Nigeria Plc, one of the leading and dominant banks in the 
country.  Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, he was 
Deputy General Manager and Divisional Head of Corporate Planning and 
Group Coordination.  Babalola also worked for Zenith Bank from 1990 
to 2001, and rose to become General Manager, Lagos and Western 
Region Business Division.  Before his foray into the banking 
industry, he worked for PriceWaterhouse and Arthur Andersen. 
Babalola holds a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University 
of Ibadan, and a Master of Banking and Finance from the University 
of Lagos.  He was born on September 8, 1964. 
 
Minister of State for Energy (Power) 
------------------------------------ 
. 
¶7.  Since October 1999, Fatima Balaraba Ibrahim has been Executive 
Director responsible for Finance and Administration at the Nigerian 
 
ABUJA 00001694  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).  Ibrahim has experience 
administering a state ministry and being in charge of finance and 
administration at the NDIC. 
 
¶8.  Ibrahim has been Assistant Director and Company Secretary at the 
NDIC from 1989 to 1999.  Prior to her joining the NDIC she was 
Commissioner for Health, Sokoto State from 1984 to 1988.  Between 
1976 and 1988 she was a lecturer at Bayero University, Kano; Kaduna 
Polytechnic; and Uthman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.  Ibrahim has 
attended various courses in several institutions including World 
Bank/Federal Reserve Seminar for Bank Supervisors from Emerging 
Economies in Washington D.C., and Pension Fund and Investment 
Management Course, at the Wharton School, Pennsylvania.  She holds a 
diploma in French from the University of Dakar, Senegal, a Bachelor 
of Arts degree in French from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 
and a Masters degree in French from the Bayero University, Kano. 
Ibrahim was born on April 16, 1947 in Kebbi. 
. 
Minister of State for Energy (Gas) 
---------------------------------- 
. 
¶9.  Until his appointment, Emmanuel Odusina was the 
Chairman/Managing Director of MTB Petroleum and Gas Nigeria Limited. 
 He worked with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 
from 1983 to 2004, rising to the position of Chief Officer before 
his retirement.  Prior to working at the NNPC, he worked as Postal 
Officer at the Ministry of Communications in Lagos.  Odusina holds a 
B.S. in Chemistry from Morgan State University, Baltimore, and a 
Masters degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma. 
 He was born on November 25, 1943 
. 
Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum) 
---------------------------------------- 
. 
¶10.  Henry Ajumogobia served as Rivers Rivers State Attorney-General 
and Commissioner of Justice between 2003 and 2007.  As Attorney 
General and Commissioner of Justice, he was responsible for running 
the affairs of the state's Ministry of Justice.  From 1984 he was 
Principal Partner in the law firm of Ajumogobia and Okeke and worked 
as Associate Partner in the law firm of Fred Egbe and Company 
between 1980 and 1983.  Prior, he was a Graduate Assistant with the 
Law Faculty, University of Lagos.  Ajumogobia holds a Bachelor of 
Law degree from the University of Lagos and was called to the 
Nigerian Bar in 1979.  He also holds a Masters degree in Law from 
Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA.  He was born on June 29, 1956. 
. 
Minister of Commerce and Industry 
--------------------------------- 
. 
¶11.  Engineer Charles Chukwuemeka Ugwuh, an industrialist, was the 
immediate past president of the Manufacturers Association of 
Nigeria, and is Chairman of both Rokana Industries and Hydro 
Resources Industries Limited.  Embassy industry contacts consider 
him an active and successful industrialist, and believe he will be a 
strong voice for local manufacturers. 
 
¶12.  Ugwuh holds a Higher National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering 
and an Advanced Diploma in Power Engineering from Borough 
Polytechnic, London.  He also holds a Master of Science degree in 
Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in thermodynamics from 
Birmingham University, England.  Ugwuh was born on December 3, 1942. 
 
. 
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry 
------------------------------------------- 
. 
¶13.  Alhaji Ahmed Garba Bichi was Executive Director responsible for 
services in the Hadejia-Jama'are River Basin Development Authority 
before his new appointment.  He held various portfolios with 
responsibilities for agriculture and rural development in Kano State 
from 1984 to 2005.  Bichi rose to the position of Managing 
Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kano Agricultural Supply Company, 
before retiring from the state civil service in 2005.  Bichi holds a 
Higher National Diploma in Agricultural Mechanization from the 
Kaduna Polytechnic and a post graduate diploma in Management and MBA 
from Bayero University, Kano.  Bichi was born on November 28, 1964. 
. 
Minister of Transport 
--------------------- 
. 
¶14.  Deziani K. Allison-Madueke was External Affairs Director, Shell 
 
ABUJA 00001694  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Nigeria Limited, and was the 
first female director of the Anglo-Dutch oil giant.  Between 1993 
and 2007 she served as Head, Projects Unit, Lagos; Head, Estates and 
Civil Infrastructure and Corporate Issues Management; Adviser, 
Strategy Planning; Lead Ventures Relations.  Prior to joining SPDC 
Allison-Madueke worked with American Interior Builders Inc. in 
Washington D.C as Project Engineer, and in 1988 joined Furman 
Construction Management Inc, Rockville, Maryland, as Design 
Coordinator.  Allison-Madueke holds a B.S. in Architecture from 
Howard University, Washington D.C. and a Masters degree in Business 
Administration from Cambridge University, UK.  Allison-Madueke was 
born on December 6, 1960. 
. 
Minister of State for Transport 
------------------------------- 
. 
¶15.  Prior to his recent appointment, Prince John Okechukwu Emeka 
was managing director and chief executive of Fichtel and Sachs (West 
Africa) Limited, an automobile parts manufacturing company in Lagos. 
 He had earlier worked with Nigerian Commercial and industrial 
Enterprises Limited as managing director and chief executive in 1990 
and executive director in 1987.  Emeka holds a B.S. in Business 
Administration from Columbia College, NY and an MBA from Fontbonne 
College, Saint Louis, MO.  He was born on July 18, 1962. 
. 
Minister/Deputy Chairman National Planning Commission 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
. 
¶16.  Senator Muhammed Sanusi Daggash served as Senator from 2003 to 
2007 and was a Member of the Federal House of Representatives from 
1999 to 2003.  While in the House of Representatives he served as 
the Chairman, House Committee on Commerce.  Daggash has held various 
positions in the private sector which includes Director, Mass 
Consult Nigeria Limited; Director, International Procurement 
Services Nigeria Limited; and Director, Matrix-Chad Limited, Kaduna. 
 He also worked as an architect with the Borno State Ministry of 
Works and Housing between 1982 and 1986.  Daggash holds a Bachelors 
and a Masters degree in Architecture from the Ahmadu Bello 
University, Zaria.  He also holds a Master of Science in Development 
Economics from the University of London, and a Master of Public 
Administration from the University of Maiduguri.  Daggash was born 
on December 22, 1960. 
. 
Minister for Housing and Environment 
------------------------------------ 
. 
¶17.  During the administration of former President Obasanjo, Halima 
Tayo Alao was appointed Minister of State for Education and later 
Minister of State for Health, which she held until May 29, 2007. 
Prior to this, Alao was Permanent Secretary in the Kwara State Civil 
Service in 2003 and served in the Ministry of Lands and Housing and 
later the Ministry of Works and Transport.  She had earlier served 
as Executive Secretary, Kwara State Commission for Women in 1995 and 
Director, Kwara State Ministry for Women Affairs in 1997.  Alao 
started her career in 1982 as an architect with the Kwara State Town 
Planning Authority and rose to the position of Principal Architect. 
She holds a Master of Science degree in Architecture from the Ahmadu 
Bello University, Zaria and a Master of Public Administration from 
University of Ilorin.  She was born on December 6, 1956. 
. 
Minister of Health 
------------------ 
. 
¶18. Professor Adenike Grange is the current president of the 
International Pediatrics Association.  She joined the Lagos 
University Teaching Hospital in 1971 and attained the position of 
professor in 1995.  Between 1964 and 1971, she worked in various 
hospitals in Nigeria, Germany, and Britain.  She began her career as 
a clinical clerk at the University College, Ibadan in 1962. 
Professor Grange was born in 1940. 
. 
Minister of State for Health 
---------------------------- 
. 
¶19.  Chief Gabriel Aduku was Executive Chairman of ArchCon, a firm 
of architects, prior to his appointment.  Aduku joined ArchCon as an 
architect in 1970 and rose to become its executive chairman in 1984. 
 He had earlier worked as an Assistant Technical Officer with the 
Institute of Agricultural Research, Samaru, Zaria from 1964 to 1970. 
 Aduku holds a Bachelors degree in Architecture from Ahmadu Bello 
University Zaria.  He was born on February 3, 1944. 
 
ABUJA 00001694  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
. 
Minister of Mines and Steel Development 
--------------------------------------- 
. 
¶20.  Chief Sarafa Tunji Ishola was Secretary to Ogun State 
Government from 2003 to 2007.  Ishola is an alumnus of the State 
Department's International Visitors Program.  Ishola was responsible 
for coordinating the affairs of Commissioners in Ogun State between 
2003 and 2007. 
 
¶21.  He had earlier served as Special Assistant to the Minister of 
State for Finance from 1999 to 2003; and Chairman, Abeokuta North 
Local Government Council between 1997 and 1998.  Ishola was 
appointed Chairman and Chief Executive of TAIST Nigeria Limited in 
1990 and worked with the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (1986) 
and Federal College of Education, Katsina (1983).  Ishola holds a 
diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, 
London.  He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, 
England and the British Institute of Management. He was born on 
November 25, 1960. 
. 
Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
. 
¶22.  Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Gusau was elected deputy governor of 
Sokoto State in 1991.  He had earlier been the Coordinator, People's 
Bank, Sokoto State.  He also served in various capacities in the old 
North-Western State Government and later Sokoto State.  Gusau holds 
a Post Graduate Diploma in Modern Management from the Institute of 
Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.  He was born on 
January 1, 1950. 
. 
Minister of Labor 
----------------- 
. 
¶23.  Dr. Hassan Mohammed Lawal was Minister of Labor and 
Productivity from 2004 to the end of the last administration.  He is 
favorably regarded by members of the Nigerian labor movement for his 
work in strengthening tripartite communication.  Lawal had served as 
Legal Adviser at the Port-Harcourt Refinery; Special Assistant to 
the Minister of Petroleum Resources; General Manager of NNPC and 
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nigerian Shippers Council 
between 1990 and 2004.  He was Sub-Dean, Head of Department and 
member of the Senate of the University of Jos before joining the 
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1990. Lawal served 
as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Plateau State General 
Supplies and Distribution Agency from 1986 to 1988, and Magistrate, 
Plateau State Judiciary from 1980 to 1981.  He holds a law degree 
from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Master of Law and Ph.D 
from University of Warwick, England.  He was born on October 12, 
¶1954. 
 
GRIBBIN