President Buhari Okays Ben Akabueze’s Tenure Renewal As DG Budget
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – For a job well done, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a tenure renewal for Mr Benjamin Akabueze as Director General, Budget Office of the Federation.
First appointed as Special Adviser Planning (SAP) to the President on February 15, 2016, Akabueze was later re-deployed and appointed by the Presidency to head the Budget Office on June 10, 2016.
The current four-year tenure, which is expiring on June 10, 2020, came against the backdrop of budget padding controversies and other nagging issues that exposed the Budget office and the Federal Government to scathing public criticisms in the early days of the Buhari’s administration.
However, under the able leadership of Akabueze in the last four years, the Budget Office has continued to undergo several reforms and repositioning towards efficiency and effective service delivery in the implementation of the nation’s annual Budget.
A statement by Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said Mr President approved “Akabueze’s tenure to be renewed for another term in order to institutionalise the achievements for a sustainable improvement in the Budget Office of the Federation.”
The statement further noted that Akabueze’s track record of sterling performance and achievements on the job informed the President’s decision to renew his appointment for another term of four years.
An economist of repute, Akabueze served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NAL Bank Plc in 2000, a post he retained till the bank’s merger in 2005 to form the present Sterling Bank Plc.
In 2007, he was appointed as the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget by Governor Babatunde Fashola-led Lagos State administration. The soft-spoken Bureaucrat held the position for eight years till year 2015.
