Bisoye Coker-Odusote named as new head of Nigeria's National Identity Management Commission

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has asked the National Identity Management Commission (Nimc) director-general Aliyu Aziz to commence his 90-day pre-retirement leave with Bisoye Coker-Odusote named as the new acting head of the agency.

According to Ajuri Ngelale, the president's special adviser on media and publicity, the leave, which takes effect from August 24 would lead to Mr Aziz's retirement from service on November 24. This will end an eight year stint with Nimc, which began in November 2015, when former president Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of Mr Aziz as head of the agency.

After the end of his tenure in 2019, President Buhari approved a renewal, which allowed Mr Aziz to serve a second term expected to end in November this year. Mr Ngelale said the appointment of Mrs Coker-Odusote, which is also for a period of 90 days, would take effect from August 24, after which, a full term of four years will begin as the substantive NIMC director-general on November 24.

At the moment, Mrs Coker-Odusote, 38, is the current general manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (Lasimra) and is considered a safe pair of hands. Lasimra is a state body charged with oversight of all the utility infrastructures within Lagos State including telecommunications, electrical gas, and water.

An engineer, Mrs Coker-Odusote has also served as the head of information technology and  communication at Bate Litwin, an engineering company. She has also worked in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, with 15 years of expertise across the technology, real estate/construction, oil and gas, finance, and media industries.

Also, President Tinubu approved the appointment of Yusuf Buba Yakub to serve as the chief executive of the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (DTAC). This follows the recent expiration of the tenure of Pius Osunyikanmi, who is retiring to be replaced by Mr Yakub, a member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Gombi/Hong Federal Constituency in Adamawa State.