Buhari Appoints Ex Gubernatorial Candidate As New FERMA Board Chairman

With few days to the expiration of his tenure, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of James Akintola as the Chairman of the Board of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

Naija News reports that Ferma is a body under the Ministry of Works and Housing.

Akintola’s appointment was made known in a statement on Thursday by Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, titled ‘President Buhari approves governing board for FERMA.’

The Presidency described him as a “multi-skilled construction professional.”

The statement read: “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the dissolution and renewal of the Governing Board for the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency.

“The new Chairman of the Board is Mr James Olugbenga Akintola. Mr Lemo conveys his appreciation to President Buhari for the opportunity given him to serve the country.”

A former governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy in the Osun State elections in 2018, Akintola had occupied similar positions in several states.

He served as General Manager of the Ogun State Public Works Agency since July 2019 and also served as Special Adviser on Infrastructure to the Oyo State Government from September 2016 to May 2019, and as Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation from August 2009 to September 2015.

Akintola, who had also served as a consultant to the Kwara State Government, holds a B.Sc in Architecture from the University of Lagos, and an M.Sc in the same field from the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

He also attended the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge Massachusetts, USA.