Sen. George Akume Wednesday assumed office as Secretary to the Government of the Federation taking the mantle from Boss Mustapha.
The brief handing over event of taking Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office was witnessed by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, Senate President Ahmed Lawan as well as some serving and former governors.
Mustapha said it is a great pleasure to him to formally hand over the affairs of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, to Akume after serving the nation to the best of his ability for five and half years.
The outgoing SGF explained the activities and functions of the OSGF which is the arm of the Presidency that is charged with the responsibility for ensuring effective coordination and monitoring the implementation of approved Government policies and programmes.
He further added that: “As it is customary during occasions like this, I have prepared my Handing Over Note, which essentially covers a general overview of the structure and functions of the OSGF.
“It provides a guide on the activities of the Office and highlights pending matters requiring the attention of the in-coming Secretary to the Government of the Federation”.
Mustapha disclosed that the staff strength of the Office stands at about 1,628 civil servants and he noted that the Office also takes care of Political Office holders including Mr. President and the Vice President.
Mustapha highlighted a few pending issues for attention and follow up to include the report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee to Consider pending Bilateral Agreements between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and report of Presidential Committee on the Review of Number and Strategy for Resourcing Nigeria’s Diplomatic Missions World-Wide.
Others are approval of the Recommendations of the Reviewed White paper on the Presidential Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions, Goni Aji Report; Amal Pepple Report on the new Agencies created after the Oronsaye Report, which White Paper was produced by the Ebele Okeke Committee among others.
Encouraging the incoming SGF, who is a former governor of Benue, Mustapha further submitted the Transition Documents.
He highlighted that the Office is undoubtedly a challenging one, especially as it is saddled with the responsibility of being the Secretariat to the President and, by extension, advising the Government on broad policy matters across the nation’s political, social and economic milieu.
“However, it is worthy of note that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is supported in the discharge of the duties of the office by a dedicated crop of staff led by their respective Permanent Secretaries, as well as the Heads of Departments, Units and their supporting Staff. Indeed, the staff of OSGF are hardworking, committed and very supportive.
He expressed gratitude to the Management and Staff of the Office for their unflinching support adding that he can attest that they are great officers in the Civil Service.
The outgoing SGF wished Akume a very fruitful and rewarding service to the nation, signing the Handing Over Notes and presenting it along with other supporting documents.
The governors present were AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Father Hyacinth Alia of Benue and former governor of Nasarawa, Sen. Tanko Al-Makura.
Others were the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr FolasadeYemi-Esan and the spouse of the new SGF, Mrs. Regina Akume.
Akume was the former minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs under President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019 to 2023.
The new SGF represented Benue North-West Senatorial District from 2007 to 2019. He was also the Minority Leader of the Senate from June 2011 to June 2015.
