Jonathan Appoints New PEF Boss

Less than a month to the expiration of his tenure, President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday approved the appointment of the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Asabe Ahmed, as the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund. According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the minister takes over from Mrs. Sharon Kasali who has been Executive Secretary of PEF since 2007. Abati’s statement did
not indicate whether Ahmed will be functioning in the two capacities for the remaining period of this administration or she will cease to be a minister with this latest appointment. The new PEF boss hails from Niger State and holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, respectively. “She (Ahmed) is expected to put her years of experience in public service to good use in re-engineering, repositioning and re-invigorating PEF for present and future challenges,” the statement added. Also on Tuesday, Jonathan approved the appointment of Mr. Denzil Kentebe as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Management Development Board. Kentebe, who was described as an architect with years of experience in strategic planning and policy management, takes over from Mr. Ernest Nwapa who has been Executive Secretary of the NCDMB since April 2010.