Former Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose has landed his first major federal appointment since leaving office, and Rural Electrification Agency insiders won’t be the only ones talking about it Monday.
President Bola Tinubu has approved 26 appointments across 10 federal government agencies and commissions, with the Presidency confirming Fayose as chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency board. The announcement came from Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, in a statement issued Monday in Abuja. All appointments take effect immediately.
Fayose’s Return to Public Office
Fayose, who governed Ekiti State twice between 2003 and 2006 and again from 2014 to 2018, has been out of direct government roles since his second term ended. He built a reputation as one of the most outspoken members of the PDP before his political drift toward the ruling party in recent years, so this appointment reads as confirmation of where his loyalties now sit.
At REA, Fayose won’t be running the agency day-to-day. He’ll chair a board that includes Alhaji Ahmadu Abubakar and Engineer Ilyasu Ibrahim Makinta as non-executive directors, alongside the agency’s Director-General, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, and three executive directors already in post. REA remains a heavily watched agency given its mandate to extend electricity access into rural and underserved communities, work that ties directly into Tinubu’s broader push on power sector reform.
The Full List of Appointments
The REA board wasn’t the only one reshuffled Monday. Tinubu also constituted new leadership across several other agencies:
National Salary and Wages Commission — Major General Junaid Bindawa (retd.) takes over as chairman, with eight additional appointments approved for the commission. Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, a former House of Representatives member from Lagos, was named secretary. Dr Ogbole Ene Lilian, Oladele Olatubosun, and Yakubu Umar Barde were appointed commissioners representing Benue, Oyo, and Kaduna states respectively.
Fiscal Responsibility Commission — Dr Abdullahi Maikano Saidu chairs the newly constituted board, joined by Mohammed Asmau, Mohammed Aliyu Makama, Dr Suleiman Gidado, Louis O. Ndukwe, Amaechi Ugwele, and Olaniyi Idowu Onikola.
Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission — Dr Anthony Inalegwu Godwin steps in as chairman and CEO.
National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) — Engineer Julius Oloro takes over as CEO, replacing Dr A. R. Kamal, who died in January.
National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education — Shuni Muhammad Dahiru becomes executive secretary, replacing Professor Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, who was moved to the Petroleum Trust Development Fund back in April.
Federal Housing Authority — Gisaor Vincent Iorja steps in as Executive Director (Finance), replacing Mathias Byuan, who resigned to pursue the Benue State governorship race.
National Population Commission — Dr Abuh Mohammed was named Director-General.
Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) — Dr Akinola Odeyemi takes over as Managing Director.
Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission — Tosin Johnson Adeyanju, previously executive secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund, was redeployed to serve as secretary here.
Ten agencies, 26 names, all in one statement; this is Tinubu clearing a backlog of vacant board seats rather than responding to any single crisis. A few of the picks tell their own story. Julius Oloro is filling a seat that’s been empty since January, when NCAM’s previous CEO died in office. Mathias Byuan left the Federal Housing Authority specifically to run for governor in Benue, which says something about how state-level politics is already pulling people out of Abuja postings ahead of 2027. And Fayose’s appointment lands at an agency with real budget and real visibility, not a ceremonial parking spot.
Whether Fayose brings the same combative energy to REA’s boardroom that he was known for as governor remains to be seen. For now, the Presidency’s statement gives Nigerians a name, a title, and a start date; the details of what he actually does with the role will play out over the coming months.
