President Bola Tinubu has sanctioned the appointment of Engineer Umar Abdullahi Umar as the Executive Director of Technical Services at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).

Umar’s entry into the new REA management cadre occurred shortly after President Tinubu greenlit the indefinite suspension of the agency’s previous team, led by Ahmad Salihijo. Salhijo, initially appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, faced suspension along with three directors due to suspected fraudulent activities.

The trio includes Olaniyi Alaba Netufo as Executive Director of Corporate Services, Barka Sajou as Executive Director of Technical Services, and Sa’adatu Balgore as Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF).

 Replacing Salihijo, Tinubu appointed Aliyu Abubakar, along with three others, including Ganduje’s son, as the new Executive Directors of the Agency. The additional appointees are Ayoade Gboyega as Executive Director of Corporate Services and Doris Uboh as Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF).

Tinubu also mandated a comprehensive investigation into the former REA management team’s actions, focusing on “fraudulent misexpenditure amounting to over N1.2 billion over the past two years.”

Presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale noted that some of the misused funds had already been recovered by anti-graft agencies.