President Muhammadu Buhari has officially announced Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari as his Chief of Staff succeeding late Mallam Abba Kyari.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, made the announcement at the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.
The official announcement comes 24 hours after Chronicle NG announced his appointment.
Prof. Gambari will assume office with immediate effect, a Presidency source told Chronicle NG.
Prof. Gambari was born on 24 November 1944, in Ilorin, Kwara State, north central Nigeria. He attended King’s College, Lagos before proceeding to attend the London School of Economics where he obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialisation in International Relations.
He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and Ph. D. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, USA in Political Science /International Relations.
He began his teaching career in 1969 at City University of New York before working at University of Albany.
Later, he taught at Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State. From 1986 to 1989, he was Visiting Professor at three universities in Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University and Howard University.
He has also been a research fellow at the Brookings Institution also in Washington D.C. and a Resident Scholar at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, the Rockefeller Foundation-run center in Italy.
He was accorded, honoris causa, the title of Doctor of Humane Letters (D.Hum.Litt.) from the University of Bridgeport.
He is a member of the Johns Hopkins University’s Society of Scholars. He was decorated with the title of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) by the Government of Nigeria.
Gambari served as the Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985 under General Muhammadu Buhari’s military regime.
From 1990 to 1999, he holds the record of being the longest serving Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, serving under five Heads of State and Presidents.
