‘Be ready to serve in any capacity’: Tinubu swears in Darma as housing minister

President Bola Tinubu on Friday administered the oath of office to Dr Muttaqha Darma as the new Minister of Housing and Urban Development, following his Senate clearance.

Darma replaced Ahmed Dangiwa, who recently resigned.

Speaking at the short ceremony held at the State House, Tinubu congratulated Darma for coming on board at this “very challenging time of national development.

The president said: “You have a very rich and interesting background. As a leader, we need competent hands like yours.

“There is no doubt that you have rendered valuable services in all the assignments you have embarked upon; You are a fitting peg in the right position.”

Tinubu told the minister to be ready to serve in any capacity in which he is called upon.

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Darma is a Nigerian scholar, administrator, and development expert who holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Liverpool and a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Atlantic International University, United States.

He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bayero University, Kano, and later earned a Master’s in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Benin.

A member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Nigerian Institute of Management, Darma served as Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund from 2008 to 2012.

Thereafter, he held key positions, including Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, and Commissioner for Rural and Social Development in Katsina State, among others.

He has also contributed to academia as a lecturer at Bayero University, Kano.

He is widely published in the areas of governance and development.

Before his appointment as minister, Darma was the President of the Umaru Yar’Adua Human Development Centre in Katsina State.