Vice President Kashim Shettima will on Tuesday chair a governance colloquium organised to mark the 50th birthday of Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Usman.
The event, scheduled to be held in Abuja, will feature a keynote address by a renowned public policy expert, Joe Abah, who will speak on the theme: “Leadership, Delivery, and the Courage to Serve.”
According to a statement by Bala-Usman’s office on Sunday, the session will also feature a panel discussion on the discipline and accountability required to sustain public sector performance.
The panel of discussants includes the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele; the Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi; and founder and Executive Director of Agora Policy and former Executive Secretary of the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Waziri Adio.
Others include the Director-General of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Rinsola Abiola, and retired Permanent Secretary and former Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Dr. Habiba Lawal.
“The planning committee of the colloquium says the event will also serve as a strategic platform for senior government officials, policy experts, and private sector leaders to deliberate on the dynamics of results-based governance, sustainable institutional reform and the courage required to drive transformative change in Nigeria’s public service,” the statement read.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Usman as his Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination in June 2023.
She also heads the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, where she coordinates government policies and drives the President’s delivery agenda across ministries and sectors.
Before her current role, Usman served as the Chief of Staff to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai from 2015.
In July 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed her as the first female Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, a position she held until February 2022.
She co-founded the global #BringBackOurGirls movement in 2014, which raised international awareness and advocated for the rescue of abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
