By Amofokhai Williams
President Bola Tinubu has named outspoken former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose as Chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), a strategic appointment to accelerate electricity access in Nigeria’s underserved communities.
The announcement, released on Monday by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, forms part of a larger wave of 26 appointments into 10 federal agencies and commissions.
Fayose, a two-term governor and prominent Peoples Democratic Party figure known for his fiery rhetoric and grassroots appeal, will head the REA board alongside Alhaji Ahmadu Abubakar and Engineer Ilyasu Ibrahim Makinta as non-executive directors.
The incumbent Director-General, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, and existing executive directors complete the board. All appointments take immediate effect.
Fayose’s elevation marks a notable crossing of political lines. Once a fierce critic of the All Progressives Congress administration, the Ekiti strongman has gradually warmed to Tinubu’s government.
His appointment to oversee rural power infrastructure gives him a high-profile platform to deliver visible development in a sector critical to Nigeria’s economic growth and poverty reduction.
The REA is central to the federal government’s off-grid and mini-grid electrification programmes aimed at closing the huge urban-rural electricity gap.
In the same package, President Tinubu appointed Major General Junaid Bindawa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, with Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, a former Lagos lawmaker, as Secretary.
Other appointments include Dr Abuh Mohammed as Director-General of the National Population Commission, Dr Akinola Odeyemi as Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, and Dr Anthony Inalegwu Godwin as Chairman/CEO of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission.
Engineer Julius Oloro was named CEO of the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation in Kwara State, while Dr Abdullahi Maikano Saidu chairs the new Fiscal Responsibility Commission board.
Tosin Johnson Adeyanju was redeployed from the National Lottery Trust Fund to Secretary of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
Gisaor Vincent Iorja, an economist and legal scholar currently serving as secretary of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, replaces a resigned executive director at the Federal Housing Authority.
The appointments reflect Tinubu’s strategy of blending technocrats, retired military officers, and experienced politicians across party lines to stabilise key institutions.
