President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse as the Executive Director on the Board of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Dutse is the immediate past Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
He has enormously interacted with development partners and international financial institutions during his tenure as Permanent Secretary.
He is quite familiar with the modus operandi of multilateral institutions such as IsDB and he is well respected in those institutions.
During his tenure as Permanent Secretary, he represented Nigeria on Boards of Governors/Directors of African Export-Import Bank, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development, World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, ECOWAS Bank for Investment, Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), among others.
The position of Executive Director on the Board of IsDB is non-residential (part time). Executive Directors travel to attend Board meetings quarterly or as determined by management to consider critical policy issues.
Before his appointment as Permanent Secretary, Dutse was the Acting Chairman and subsequently a Non-Executive Director of the Emerging African Infrastructure Fund (EAIF). He is a renowned banker with 23 years vast experience in the financial sector, having graduated in Economics with MBA and Ph.D in Business Administration.
Dr. Dutse is taking over from Alhaji Shuaibu Gambo who was appointed on 1st July, 2011 and has held the position for about 10 years.
The new Executive Director is expected to bring to the Board new ideas, innovations and contribution and provide Nigeria with opportunity for a voice to demand and access additional resources from the Bank.
Nigeria purchased 7.65 percent of the capital stock of the IsDB in 2010. The acquisition entitled the country to a single-country constituency as against the previous 11 country-constituency which Nigeria previously belonged. It also entitles the country to a Permanent Seat on the Bank’s Executive Board of Directors.
In her reaction to the appointment, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, thanked the President and Commander-in-Chief for the appointment. She noted the expertise of Isa-Dutse whom she said has deep intellect and knowledge of development institutions.
In her words: “Dr. Isa-Dutse has the needed experience and knowledge that is required to inject new ideas, innovation and contribution on behalf of Nigeria on the Board of the bank. He has very impressive credentials for the position.”
Mercy Chukwudiebere
