Presidential aspirant, NEXIM Bank director, youngest nominee… 7 women on Tinubu’s ministerial list

President Bola Tinubu sent the list of his ministerial nominees to the senate on Thursday; of the 28 names sent, seven of them are women.

This means that women represent 25 percent of the ministerial nominees as currently constituted.

In 2019, former president Muhammadu Buhari also appointed seven women to his cabinet, but they were seven out of 42, representing 17 percent of the total cabinet.

President Tinubu is expected to send a supplementary list to the senate to meet up with necessary constitutional requirements.

Based on TheCable’s analysis of the list sent by the president, Betta Edu, the national women leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), is the youngest nominee. She is 36 years old.

Uju Ohanenye, APC’s sole female presidential candidate in the June 2022 presidential primaries, also made the list. She stepped down for Tinubu at primaries.

Stella Okotete, the executive director (Business Development) at the Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank made the list.

Here is a list of nominated female ministers and a brief profile:

HANNATU MUSAWA

Hannatu Musa Musawa from Katsina state is the recently-appointed special adviser on culture and entertainment economy.

Musawa, who is the daughter of the late Katsina politician, Musa Musawa, is a lawyer, politician and author.

She served as deputy spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council.

She studied Law at the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom; and holds Master’s degrees in the Legal Aspects of Marine Affairs from the University of Cardiff, Wales; and Oil and Gas Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

She is also a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, UK; and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Musawa is currently completing a doctorate, which she has been doing part-time.

BETTA EDU

Betta Edu is from Cross River state and the youngest among the ministerial nominees. She is the national women leader of the APC and a former commissioner of health in Cross River state.

In 2020, she became chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Taskforce.

In August 2022, she was appointed National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.

Edu obtained her first degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Calabar, Cross River state. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health for Developing Countries from London School Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a master’s degree in Public Health in Developing Countries from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Doctor of Public Health from Texila American University. 

STELLA OKOTETE

Okotete holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and Diplomacy from Benson Idahosa University.

She also has a Diploma in Law from the Rivers State College of Arts and Sciences. A Master’s degree in Public Administration and Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution.

She is the executive director (Business Development) at the Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank. She is 39 years old.

UJU KENNEDY OHANENYE

In the last presidential election, Uju Kennedy Ohaneye from Anambra state was the only female presidential aspirant of the APC, who later stepped down for the President at the primaries.

She is a legal practitioner managing director of Kenuj 02 Mall, Federal Capital Territory and Owerri in Imo State. Ohanenye is married with four children.

DORIS UZOKA-ANITE

Doris is a career banker with over 20 years of experience at Zenith Bank, Nigeria. Despite studying medicine at the University of Benin, she pivoted into banking in 2002.

Uzoka-Anite was a former commissioner for finance and coordinating economy in Imo state. She holds a couple of financial certificates from Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

NKEIRUKA ONYEJEOCHA

Onyejeocha was a member of the house of representatives representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency of Abia State. 

She was first elected in 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then Nigeria’s ruling party. Onyejeocha defected to the APC in 2018 after coming under intense pressure from her former party leaders to drop her ambition for a return ticket to the house.

In 2019, Onyejocha contested for the position of speaker of the house of representatives after winning a return ticket to the house for a fourth term. She was the only female candidate in the race. But less than 24 hours to the election, she stepped down for her main challenger, Femi Gbajabiamila.

She was previously Executive Transition Chairman of Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia state in 2002. In 2003, she served in the executive cabinet of Abia state as commissioner for Resource Management and Manpower Development.

Onyejeocha is 53 years old.

IMAAN SULAIMAN-IBRAHIM 

Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim was born in Jos, Plateau but hails from Keffi, Nasarawa state. She is 43 years old.

She is currently the  federal commissioner of the National Commission For Refugees Migrants And Internally Displaced Persons.

She served as the director-general of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) from December 1, 2020, till May 27, 2021.

She was a special adviser on strategic communication to the minister of state for education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, and she was appointed a member of the Nasarawa State economic advisory council in 2019.