Borno Gov Appoints Former Minister As SSG

Malam Bukar Tijani

A former Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Malam Bukar Tijani has been appointed as the Secretary to the Borno State Government.

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum also reappointed Professor Isa Hussaini Marte as the Chief of Staff.

The two appointments were announced by the Governor’s spokesman Malam Isa Gusau in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The statement noted that Zulum considered Tijani’s very high-level experience from his services as minister from July 2011 to September 2013 and as Assistant Secretary-General/Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

Sixty-two-year Tijani was born in Damasak but hails from Dikwa local government area of Borno State. The former minister holds a Master of Science (degree) in Tropical Agricultural Development from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, obtained in 1989.

He had earlier obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Plant and Soil Science from 1982 to 1984 at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama, United States of America.

The former minister is a Fellow of the Agricultural Society of Nigeria, Fellow, Soil Science Society of Nigeria, Fellow (Honourary), P.R China, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Recipient of Letter of Commendation for Meritorious National Service as a Minister of the Federal Republic by Nigerian President, Recipient of letter of Commendation for a job well-down on the formation of first Farmer’s Council in Borno/Yobe States, Certificate of Merit – American National Dean’s List (1984), Certificate of Merit – American National Dean’s List (1983), Recipient of Honour Roll Scholastic Achievement Certificate of Tuskegee University, Alabama, USA (1983) and is a best overall student during his Diploma in Agriculture at Borno College of Agriculture, Maiduguri (1980).

The Chief of Staff, Professor Isa Hussaini Marte hails from the Marte local government area of Borno State.  He was appointed as Governor Zulum’s chief of staff on August 17, 2020.

The Professor had previously served as Borno State’s commissioner for Higher Education from August 2019  to August 2020. He also served as overseeing commissioner of health in 2021 while being chief of staff. He held both positions under the Zulum administration.

Isa Hussaini Marte is a professor of pharmacology with a specialty in cancer research and he is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, a member of the Society for Neuroscience, a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, and a member of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria amongst others.

Marte holds a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in pharmacology from King’s College London in 1987. He holds a Master’s Degree in pharmacology from Chelsea College, University of London in 1983.

In 1997, he obtained MBA from Averett University, a private non-profit college in Danville, Virginia, United States of America. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Prior to his tertiary education, Professor Isa Hussaini Marte attended Yerwa Central Primary School Maiduguri, before moving to Yerwa Government Secondary School Maiduguri, where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1975.

Marte joined the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maiduguri in 1981 but left in 1982 for a Graduate Program at Chelsea College University of London. After he received a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in Pharmacology from King’s College London in 1987, he returned to Nigeria to join the services of Ahmadu Bello University, where he was appointed a senior lecturer in 1991. He left the university to join the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Development, Abuja as chief research fellow and was later appointed head of the Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology.