Buhari and Gambari
The Presidency has reacted to Gambari’s appointment as Buhari’s new Chief of Staff.
NewsOne Nigeria had reported earlier that President Buhari has appointed a former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari as his new Chief of Staff.
This reliable online news platform understands that the President’s new chief of staff is to replace Buhari’s former Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari who died of coronavirus disease in April.
However, when contacted for a reaction to the supposed appointment of the President’s new chief of staff, President Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said he was not yet aware of such development.
In a text sent as quoted by Daily Post, the Presidential spokesman simply wrote: “I have not been briefed.”
Meanwhile, Professor Gambari, a 75-year-old Nigerian scholar and diplomat from Kwara State, northcentral Nigeria, was Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985. He was appointed by the secretary-general of United Nations Ban Ki-moon and the chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur effective from 1 January 2010.
Before his appointment by the President to replace Abba Kyari, the Professor was the Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he served as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). He was appointed on June 10, 2005, and assumed the post on July 1 of that year.
Professor Gambari was on March 4, 2013, named by the Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University, making him the ceremonial head of the university who presides over convocations to award degrees and diplomas and also supports the vision and mission of the university in all respects, including fundraising, social, economic and academic goals.
The new chief of staff is also co-chair of the Albright-Gambari Commission. He was born November 24, 1944, in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.