Leading Influential Women in Government

Amina J. Mohammed

Amina J. Mohammed was born on June 27, 1961 in Kaduna State to a British mother and Nigerian father. She is from Gombe State.

She was educated at Columbia University, New York in the United States. Mohammed has been working in the field of development for more than 30 years, both in the public and private sectors.

Previously, she worked as a senior adviser to the president on Millennium Development Goals for six years. In this position, she was in charge of designing and developing government projects to reduce poverty around the country.

 Between 2002 and 2005, she worked in the United Nations Millennium Project as a coordinator of the Task Force on Gender and Education.

 On November 11, 2015, Mohammed was sworn in as the minister of environment in Buhari’s cabinet. Mohammed has also served on many international advisory boards and panels such as the Gates Foundation and the UN Secretary General’s Global Sustainability Panel.

Since April 5, 2016, Mohammed has served as chairman of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). She is a recipient of the National Honours Award of OFR in recognition of her contributions and accomplishments.

Hadiza Bala-Usman

Hadiza Bala Usman was born in Zaria on January 2, 1976. She is an activist and politician.

She has a first degree from the Ahmadu Bello University and a master’s degree from the University of Leeds. She is currently the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). President Muhammadu Buhari appointed her to this position on Monday, July 11, 2016. She was the chief of staff to the Kaduna State governor.

Bala Usman is an active member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). She worked for a non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Democratic Development and Research Training (CEDDERT) in Zaria as a research assistant for a year. She also worked for the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and as a special assistant to the then minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on project implementation.

In 2011, she worked as Director of Strategy for the Good Governance Group (3G). In 2015, she was appointed chief of staff to the Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i.

As a very strong member of the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group, she helped to coordinate meetings with parents of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls and the Nigerian government.

Bala Usman was featured in Financial Times and the CNN for her work with the BBOG.

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan (Mama Taraba)

Aisha Jummai Alhassan, the current Minister of Women Affairs, was born on September 16, 1959 in Taraba State. She was educated at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. She is a lawyer. She became the first female to be appointed as the attorney- general and commissioner for justice in Taraba State.

She nearly became the first elected female governor in Nigeria during the 2015 gubernatorial election. She represented Taraba North in the Senate. Aisha was the first woman to be appointed as the secretary of the FCT Judicial Council. She rose through the ranks and became the first female chief magistrate in the FCT in 1996. She was the first female deputy chief registrar and director of litigation, High Court of the FCT, Abuja. She was also the first female chief registrar of the High Court of the FCT in 2003.

In 2009, she voluntarily retired from the FCT judiciary as chief registrar. This was the beginning of her political career.

Kemi Adeosun

The current Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, was born on March 9, 1967 in the United Kingdom. She is from Ogun State. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of East London and a postgraduate diploma in Public Financial Management from the University of London. She qualified as a chartered accountant in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales in 1994. After working in Quo Vadis Partnership as managing director in 2010 and 2011, she was appointed the Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State from 2011 till 2015.

Dr. Sarah Omotunde Alade

Dr. Sarah Omotunde Alade, OON serves as Deputy Governor of Economic Policy at The Central Bank of Nigeria. Dr. Alade serves as Non-Executive Chairwoman at Africa Finance Corporation. Dr. Alade has been the Chairman of FMDQ OTC PLC since August 1, 2014. Dr. Alade has been a Director at Africa Finance Corporation since July 30, 2014. She serves as Director at The Central Bank of Nigeria. Dr. Sarah Omotunde Alade was appointed Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on March 26, 2007.

She attended the University of Ife (UNIFE), Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU) where she obtained a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Economics in 1976. She also obtained an M.Comm degree at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, in 1983 and a Ph.D in Management Science (Operations Research), from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in 1991.

Dr. Alade began her working career in 1977 with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ilorin, Kwara State. In 1991, she joined the UNILORIN as a Lecturer in the Department of Accounting and Finance. She joined the CBN in 1993 as an Assistant Director in the Research Department, where she served as Head, State Government Finance Office (1993-1996); Head, Federal Government Finance Office (1996-2000) and Head, Fiscal Analysis Division (2000-2004).

Dr. Alade has served on the teams on major economic policy studies and has been involved in the preparation of CBN’s Monetary and Credit Policy Proposals over the years. Shehas served as the Chairman, Board of Directors, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) as well as Secretary, National Payments System Committee (NPSC).

Dr. Alade was a member of the Technical Committee of the Vision 2010 and currently a member of the Technical Committee of Vision 2020 and the National Economic Management Team (EMT).

Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa

Zainab Bulkachuwa, who was born in March, 1950, is a jurist and the president of the Court of Appeal. She was called to Bar in 1976 and was appointed to the Bench of the Court of Appeal as justice in 1998. Before the appointment, she was a judge at the High Court in Bauchi State. She presided over the Sokoto State governorship election petition of 2007. In 2014, she was appointed as president of the Court of Appeal by former President Goodluck Jonathan and sworn in by Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, the former and first Chief Justice of the Federation.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan approved the appointment of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa as the acting president of the Court of Appeal in 2012. The National Judicial Council renewed the appointment of Justice Bulkachuwa.

Oluremi Tinubu

Oluremi Tinubu was born on September 21, 1960. The wife of former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, is currently a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the APC, representing Lagos Central.

She has a degree in Education from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife. She also has a National Certificate in Education in Botany and Zoology from the Adeyemi College of Education.

Mrs. Tinubu has local and international awards. Among these are the national award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger; Ghana Noble International Award for Leadership; Gambian Diamond Award for Immense Contribution to the Emancipation of People from Poverty.

She also has several chieftaincy titles.

 Also, in appreciation of her contributions as a role model, the AFAO/WAWA (Association Des Femmes De L’Afrique De L’Ouest/West African Women Association) named the Oluremi Tinubu Women Training Centre in Gorom, Senegal after her.

Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule

Born in Lagos State, Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule attended the Lagos State University, where she obtained a degree in Islamic Studies in 1992.  She also has a master’s degree in Curriculum Studies from the same university in 1997.

Apart from that, she has a certificate in Early Childhood Development Curriculum and School Administration and Assessment from the Nigeria Institute of International Education Association in 2006. She further got a doctorate degree in Curriculum Studies in 2012, also at the Lagos State University.

Her political experience began when she was appointed a commissioner in the Lagos State Post Primary Teaching Service Commission (PP-TESCOM), now Teachers’ Establishment and Pensions Office, by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu from 2000 to 2005, and later as a board member of the Lagos State Scholarship Board in 2005.

Dr Adebule was appointed the Secretary to the Lagos State Government by Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) in 2011. Currently, she is the deputy governor of Lagos State and superintends over the state’s Ministry of Education.

A consummate writer, Dr Adebule, has several local, national and international publications to her credit. These include, Reading the Objective of Universal Basic Education in Nigeria, The Imperative of Religion and peace in the Quest for Sustainable Development in Nigeria: The Plateau State Experience, The Effective Use of Educational Technology for Religious Teaching: Learning amongst Secondary Schools  in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Mrs. Ayotunde Adesugba

Mrs. Ayotunde Adesugba hails from Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State. Born on the 15th of May, 1957, she joined the Federal Civil Service in 1982.  

Mrs. Ayotunde holds a Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in Arts from reputable Universities.Mrs. Adesugba was appointed the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture on 10th November, 2015.

Before her appointment as the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, she was the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Health.

Aisha Abubakar

Aisha Abubakar, who hails from Sokoto State, was born on July 20, 1966. She obtained a degree in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick in 1990. She also got her master’s degree in Development Studies at the University of Leeds in 1991.

She worked at the African Development Bank (ADB), Abidjan as a Senior Bilateral Co-operation Officer from 1993 to 1997 and in the Lagos office of the ADB from 1998 to 1999. From 2010, Aisha Abubakar worked at the Abuja Enterprise Agency, rising to the position of managing director in 2013, a position she held until June this year.

Most recently, Aisha was the Director of Corporate Services in the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD). She is currently the Minister of State, Trade, Industry and Investment. She is described as a role model to many women.

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