President Bola Tinubu has appointed Abba Aliyu as the substantive managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), effective January 23, 2025, for an initial term of four years.
Until his appointment, Aliyu, who has over 20 years of experience in energy and organisational development in the private and public sectors, had been the agency’s acting managing director.
Here’s everything you need to know about Abba Aliyu:
Aliyu holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management from Bayero University, Kano.
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He has over two decades of experience spanning human resources, organisational development, project management, and Nigeria’s power sector.
Before his appointment, he served as acting managing director of the REA from March 2024 and previously led the agency’s Project Management Unit.
His time at REA has focused on expanding access to electricity in rural communities through mini-grid projects and renewable energy solutions.
Aliyu spent over a decade at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), where he held multiple leadership roles.
From 2012 to 2017, he served as the divisional head, human resources and admin at NBET where he was responsible for the Company’s support functions covering human resources, procurement, information technology, logistics and facility management.
From 2016 to 2023, he served as the general manager of corporate services and projects, managing both solar and thermal power projects and gas-to-power project development.
Between 2019 and 2021, he served as a special assistant to the minister of power, supporting policy formulation and implementation in power generation, transmission, and distribution.
His career also includes experience in the banking, consulting, and media industries.
He was head of human capital management at ASO Savings and Loans Plc, where he designed a performance management system that won the 2009 Microsoft Business Transformation Award.
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He later became executive director of human resources and organisational development at NN24, a media company with a CNN International affiliation.
Aliyu also co-founded IdeaEdge Consulting, a human resources consulting firm, and Signtura Outsource, a business process outsourcing company.
At both firms, he worked on business transformation, recruitment, capacity development, and performance management.
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