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– From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has approved the appointment of Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).
Nimbofa who until his appointment was the Executive Chairman of the Bayelsa State Board of Internal Revenue, a position he has occupied since 2016.
A politician, technocrat and academic, Ayawei, who hails from Koluama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area was a former House of Assembly member representing Southern Ijaw constituency 4 between 2003 and 2007 and contested the 2019 governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with Diri.
He replaced Alabo Gideon Ekeuwei also from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, an indication that Diri valued the electoral contribution.
Diri also named Dr. Peter Pereotubo Akpe as the Chief of Staff (CoS), Government House, Daniel Alabrah as Chief Press Secretary and Mr. Irorodamie Komonibo as the new Deputy Chief of Staff (DCoS), Government House
A press release Alabrah stated that the appointments take immediate effect.
Ayawei started his working career at the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment before his appointment as member of the State Scholarship Board in 2001. In 2002, he was appointed Chairman, Bassan-Koluama Rural Development Authority.
In 2003, he was elected to represent Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 in the state legislature after which he became General Manager/Chief Executive Officer of the Bayelsa State Housing and Property Development Authority in 2012. He was also appointed Commissioner for Housing and Rural Development in 2014.
Prof. Ayawei bagged a Bachelor of Education degree in Chemistry in 1995 at the then Rivers State College of Education, Port Harcourt (which was then an affiliate of the University of Ibadan) before obtaining a Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry in 2008 at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State and later a Doctor of Philosophy in Analytical/Environmental Chemistry at the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Amassoma. He was the first PhD graduate of the university in 2016.
He also took up appointment as lecturer in the NDU Department of Chemical Sciences in 2016 and is currently a Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, Bayelsa State Medical University (BMU).
