President Buhari has appointed Prof Ibrahim Agboola Gambari as his new chief of staff.
Prof Gambari. Photo credit: PM News
Gambari, an astute diplomat with years of experience replaces Abba Kyari who died April 12, 2020. Here are some facts about him.
Ibrahim Gambari was born November 24, 1944 in Ilorin, Kwara State. He attended Kings College Lagos for his secondary education.
Gambari obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialisation in International Relations from the London School of Economics in 1968. He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and Ph. D. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, USA in Political Science /International Relations.
Gambari began his teaching career in 1969 at City University of New York before working at University of Albany and also at Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State. He was Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985.
Gambari was a Visiting Professor at three universities in Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University and Howard University from 1986 to 1989.
He was appointed as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in 2005.
Gambari was also appointed by the secretary-general of United Nations Ban Ki-moon as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur in January 2010. He was named by the Kwara State Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University on March 4, 2013.
Gambari is a member of the Johns Hopkins University’s Society of Scholars. He was decorated with the title of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) by the Government of Nigeria.
Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari will replace Mallam Abba Kyari who passed away on 17 April after succumbing to coronavirus complications.
Prof. Gambari, 74, is a Nigerian scholar, diplomat and an indigene of Kwara state. He is not affiliated to any political party, but supported the Enough is Enough campaign in his home state of Kwara last year.
He later went to London School of Economics where he obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialisation in International Relations.
In 1970, he obtained an M.A. from Columbia University, New York and a PHD in the same school in 1974.
Gambari once served as External Affairs Minister under the military regime of Buhari between 1984 and 1985. He also served as Nigeria’s Representative in the United Nations.
He is currently the Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
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