Nigerian Mahmoud Isa-Dutse joins Islamic Development Bank board of directors

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Nigerian Dr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse as an executive director on the board of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) based in the Saudi Arabian city of Jedda.

Dr Dutse is the immediate past permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. During the course of his career, he has worked with development partners and international financial institutions and is familiar with the modus operandi of multilateral institutions such as the IsDB.

In addition, during his tenure as permanent secretary, Dr Dutse represented Nigeria on the boards of the African Export-Import Bank, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Fund for International Development, the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank and the Ecowas Bank for Investment.

Dr Dutse has also served on the boards of local institutions like the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria among others. His latest appointment is non-residential, meaning that he will be based in Nigeria and travel to attend board meetings every quarter in Saudi Arabia.

Before his appointment as permanent secretary, Dr Dutse was the acting chairman of the Emerging African Infrastructure Fund. He is a renowned banker with 23 years experience in the financial sector, with a degree in Economics, an MBA and a PhD in Business Administration.

Dr Dutse is taking over from Shuaibu Gambo who was appointed on July 1 2011 and is leaving after holding the position for nearly 10 years. Nigeria purchased 7.65% of the capital stock of the IsDB in 2010, entitling the country to a permanent seat on the bank’s executive board of directors.

Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria's finance minister, said: “Dr Isa-Dutse has the needed experience and knowledge that is required to inject new ideas, innovation and contribution on behalf of Nigeria on the board of the bank. He has very impressive credentials for the position.”

In a related development, President Buhari also approved the appointment of Oyebode Oyetunde as executive director for Nigeria at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Before his appointment, Mr Oyetunde was a senior special assistant to the president on finance and fiscal policy.

He was also a special adviser on fiscal policy to the finance minister. Mr Oyetunde is a chartered accountant and a fiscal policy tax expert with 24 years of experience in investment banking.