President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for Engineer Umar Abdullahi Umar to become the Executive Director of Technical Services at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
Engineer Umar is the son of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Engineer Umar’s appointment to the new REA management team happened shortly after President Tinubu suspended the agency’s previous team, led by Ahmad Salihijo. Salihijo, who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, was suspended along with three directors due to allegations of fraudulent transactions.
The other directors suspended were Olaniyi Alaba Netufo, Barka Sajou, and Sa’adatu Balgore.
Tinubu appointed Aliyu Abubakar to replace Salihijo, and also named three new Executive Directors for the Agency, including Ganduje’s son. The other two new directors are Ayoade Gboyega and Doris Uboh.
Tinubu has also ordered a broader investigation into the actions of the former REA management team regarding “fraudulent misexpenditure totaling over N1.2 billion in the past two years.
Some of the misused funds have already been recovered by anti-corruption agencies, according to presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale.
