Kwara governor strengthens security architecture with 2 new appointments

Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has named Saliu Tunde Bello, retired Brigadier-General, one-time Colonel General Staff for the Nigerian contingent in the Liberian war and former military governor, as his Special Adviser on Security.

The governor also appointed Aliyu Muyideen, an intelligence and counterterrorism expert, as Senior Special Assistant on Security.

The assemblage of a crack security team comes as the governor pushes harder for more investments in Kwara State, according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye.

Brigadier-General Bello, who hails from Erin Ile in Oyun Local Government Area, was military Governor of Kebbi State between 1993 and 1996. He was a colonel general staff for the Nigerian contingent in Liberia, and Chief Instructor at Military School in Zaria between 1988 and 1992, among other roles.

Apart from other military courses in Pakistan and India, he attended Nigerian Military School Zaria and Mons Officer Cadet School Aldershot England and was commissioned into the Nigerian army in 1971. He retired in 1999.

Aliyu Muyideen, who retired as principal staff officer operations (DSS), has a master’s degree in Peace and Strategic Studies from the University of Ilorin where he had earlier bagged a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Muyideen, who comes from Ilorin, had trainings in advance investigation, intelligence analysis, counterterrorism, advance vetting, explosive ordinance, and detective basics, among others.

The governor meanwhile has appointed Adekunle David Dunmade, a professor of otolaryngology and current director of the University of Ilorin Stem Cell Research Centre, as his Special Adviser on Health Matters.

Dunmade, who hails from Ifelodun, replaces Wale Sulaiman who is leaving his cabinet position to pursue his long-time passion of maximising his contacts in the global health and non-health sectors to deepen interaction with the Nigerian diaspora and attract investments.

“While this is strictly a personal passion of Prof. Wale Suleiman, our doors remain open to him and other great minds like him in our commitments to rebuild a Kwara we would all be proud of. Indeed, the government will continue to consult with Prof. Wale Suleiman on relevant aspects of our policy direction as an administration,” according to the statement.

“The Governor acknowledges the many positive contributions of Prof. Wale Suleiman and the great strides he achieved together with him and others in the development of our health sector, including the campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor thanks him most sincerely for what the administration has achieved together with him and wish him all the best in his future endeavour.”

Dunmade, a professor, for his part, is a sought-after expert in the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) medicine with over 48 publications in local and international journals in his field of study.

He is a fellow of the KKR ENT Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, India; fellow of the West African College of Surgeons; fellow of the Medical College of Otolaryngology; member of the Nigerian Surgical Research Society; member of the Nigerian Society of Neurological Sciences affiliated to World Federation of Neurology; member of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, among others.