President Bola Tinubu has officially sworn in Dr Muttaqha Darma as the new Minister of Housing and Urban Development in a ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that the event took place inside the President’s Conference Room shortly before 4:00 p.m., where Darma took the oath of office and assumed his new role in the federal cabinet.
Before his appointment, Darma served as Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund. His nomination was earlier forwarded to the Senate and read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Lawmakers approved him after a screening exercise conducted on Thursday.
During the screening process, Darma assured lawmakers that he would work with the National Assembly to tackle Nigeria’s housing shortage, which affects a large number of citizens.
He spoke about plans to improve leadership within the ministry, widen access to affordable homes, and strengthen the institutions responsible for housing development.
Darma replaces Ahmed Dangiwa, who left the position following a recent adjustment within the Federal Executive Council. The reshuffle was announced earlier in the week by the Presidency.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, explained that the changes were made to improve coordination in government activities and support ongoing economic plans under the Renewed Hope programme.
Following the announcement, Dangiwa handed over the ministry on Thursday in line with instructions from the office of the SGF, completing the transition process.