The Kaduna State House of Assembly has confirmed the appointment of Umma Aboki as the state’s Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission, PBC.
The Speaker, Yusuf Zailani, who presided over the plenary in Kaduna, congratulated Aboki and urged her to uphold the confidence bestowed on her.
Until her confirmation, Mrs Aboki was the Permanent Secretary in the commission, a position she held since October 2021.
The commissioner’s seat became vacant following the resignation of Muhammad Abdullahi.
Mr Abdullahi, popularly known as Dattijo resigned to join the 2023 governorship race in the state.
Mrs Aboki hold a master’s degree in Finance and Controlling from the Swiss Management Center, Switzerland, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Science from the Kaduna Polytechnic, and a B.Sc. in Statistics from the University of Maiduguri.
She has over 20 years experience in the banking industry, having worked with various banks notably Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Sterling Bank Plc.
While in the banking sector Aboki rose to the rank of Deputy General Manager and Head of Institutional Banking in the North-West Division.
In November 2017, she was seconded to Kaduna State and appointed Special Adviser, Economic and Investment Matters to Gov. Nasir el-Rufai.
She was appointed Executive Secretary of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency, KADIPA, in February 2018 before she was redeployed as Permanent Secretary, PBC in October 2021.
Reacting, Joshua James, Secretary, Civil Society Steering Committee, Open Government Partnership, OGP, described her confirmation as a “plus” to the OGP.
Mr James explained that the PBC was the powerhouse of the OGP with the Commissioner as the Government Co-Chair and Hadiza Umar as Citizens Co-Chair.
According to him, it is comforting to have someone who understands the processes of the OGP, as having someone different will have taken us back to where we began in 2016.
“The former commissioner had worked with her; we have had several engagements with her about the workings of the OGP when she was the Permanent Secretary and she demonstrated deep commitment.
“She understands the processes of the OGP; she is open minded, open to reforms and knows the direction of the state government around citizens’ engagement.
“Now that she has been confirmed as substantive commissioner, she automatically becomes the Government Co-Chair of the OGP,” Mr James said
