President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, confirmed the appointed Professor Ibrahim Gambari as his new Chief of Staff. He replaces Abba Kyari, who died from coronavirus complications last month. The appointment was announced by the Secretary to the Government, Boss Mustapha.
Speaking on his appointment, Prof Gambari expressed his total commitment to supporting the president, “I want to thanks the president of the federal republic for giving me the opportunity to serve him and the country.” On expectation, he added that “I think he needs my loyalty, competence, and support.”
Below is the Official Bio-data the new Chief of Staff:
Professor Ibrahim A. Gambari, CFR, OCORT, a scholar-diplomat, is the Founder/Chairman of the Board of Directors of Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy, and Development, a non-governmental think-tank on research, policy studies, advocacy and training on the nexus between conflict prevention and resolution, democratization and development in Africa.
He has had an illustrious career, spanning academia, government, and international diplomacy, culminating with his appointment as the first United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa (1999-2005). He was the Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid (1990-1994) and on Peace-Keeping Operations (1990—1999). He was Head of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (2005-2007) and also operated as UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Cyprus, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar and Special Representative in Angola.
Earlier, he was Minister of External Affairs (1984-1985) and subsequently Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations (1990-1999). Professor Gambari also served as Joint AU/UN Special Representative in Darfur and Head of UNAMID (2010-2012). He is currently a Chairperson of the Panel of Eminent Persons of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
Professor Gambari attended the Provincial (now Government) Secondary School, Ilorin before proceeding to the Floreat Collegium Kings College, Lagos. He received his BSc (Econ) degree from the London School of Economics (1968) and his MA and Ph.D. in Political Science/International Relations (1970, 1974) from Columbia University, USA. He has taught at universities in the United States, Nigeria, and Singapore and has to his credit the authorship of a number of books.
He has received several academic and national honors, including the “Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” (CFR), and the “Order of the Champion of the Oliver R. Tambo” (OCORT) of South Africa. He is the Pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Ilorin, Nigeria, as well as the current Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Bayero University, Kano (BUK). He is married with children and grandchildren.