President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Professor Agboola Ibrahim Gambari as the new Chief of Staff.
He replaces Mallam Abba Kyari, who died April 17 from COVID-19 complications.
Gambari, a scholar and diplomat, is an indigene of Kwara State.
He was the first Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa (1999-2005). In that capacity, he worked closely with heads of government, key policymakers as well as institutions in the continent to develop the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
During the period, he was concurrently the Resident Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission to Angola (2002-2003). He has been a delegate to the Assembly of the African Union as a national delegate (1984-1985) and as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s delegation (2000-2012).
Gambari is currently the Founder/Chairman of Savannah Center in Abuja, a think-tank for research, training and public policy debate on the nexus between diplomacy (conflict resolution), democracy and development in Africa.
His last assignment at the United Nations was as the Joint Special Representative of the Secretary General and Chairperson of the African Union Commission/Head of the UN and AU Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) from January 2010 to July 2012.
During Ambassador Gambari’s tenure, UNAMID was the world’s largest international peacekeeping mission.
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