APC group asks Tinubu to reconsider appointing Danfulani as SMDF executive secretary

A group known as Zamfara APC Youth Vanguard has asked President Bola Tinubu to reconsider appointing Yazid Danfulani as the executive secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund/Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (SMDF/PAGMI).

On Friday, Tinubu appointed heads of some government agencies and parastatals.

In a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, Danfulani was announced as the executive secretary of SMDF/PAGMI.

However, in a subsequent statement, Onanuga said Tinubu had cancelled the appointment because “there is no vacancy in the agency”.

Fatima Shinkafi was, therefore, reappointed as SMDF’s executive secretary.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Muhammad Gusau, chairman of the group, said while Shinkafi has contributed her quota in leading SMDF/PAGMI, it is “time to take the solid minerals sector to a greater height by a purposeful, resourceful, and innovative leader”.

“We, therefore, urge President Bola Tinubu to graciously reconsider and review the mix-up in the appointment of Yazid Danfulani and Hajia Fatima Umaru-Shinkafi as executive secretary of SMDF on the same day,” the statement reads.

“Danfulani is an embodiment of patriotism, a development expert with enormous intellectual capacity.

“He will bring his wealth of experience in banking, computing, and business administration to bear on the solid minerals sector, having worked meritoriously at the Central Bank of Nigeria and served as a commissioner of commerce and industry in Zamfara state.”

Gusau said Danfulani will “certainly bring a high sense of commitment and innovation in repositioning the sector”.

“We urge Mr. President to graciously take another look at the mix-up in the appointment and consider Yazid Danfulani as the executive secretary of SMDF,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Association of Small-Scale Miners in Zamfara has congratulated Shinkafi on her appointment as the executive secretary of SMDF/PAGMI.

In a statement, Abubakar Rabiu, chairman of the association, described Shinkafi as a “paragon of excellence,” noting that she “will be motivated to take the solid minerals sector to the next level”.

“President Tinubu has once more fulfilled one of his campaign promises of appointing women into key positions in government, an eloquent testimony that his government is gender friendly,” he said.

Zamfara Miners Cooperative Society also felicitated Shinkafi on her reappointment, saying her “managerial acumen, tenacity of purpose, and vast experience” have “significantly transformed” the sector.

“Under her amazing leadership, SMDF collaborated with numerous local and foreign organisations, including the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), to explore and maximise the nation’s solid minerals deposits, thus making them attractive to foreign investors,” Bello Bagega, chairman of the group, said.