President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Ambassador Babagana Kingibe as his Special Envoy with Cabinet Rank Status, to Chad and the Lake Chad Basin Region.
Kingibe’s appointment was confirmed in a statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, on Monday.
The statement read, “This appointment of a Special Envoy by the President is also in consonance with the resolution of the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission Member Countries, on the situation in Chad on the 25th of May, 2021.
“The Special Envoy will amongst others: Monitor developments in Chad and the Lake Chad Basin Region; aid reconciliation and seamless progress towards a return to democratic rule at the end of the current Transitional Military Council’s rule; collaborate with member countries and partners in the region with similar initiatives to restore stability, promote peace and, security; and promote any other initiative ancillary to the restoration of peace and security in Chad, the North-East Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Region.
“President Buhari has by this appointment demonstrated the determination of Nigeria to lead regional security efforts that will stabilize the Lake Chad Basin Region, bring peace to Chad and ultimately eliminate the Boko Haram Insurgency in the North East zone of Nigeria.
“This is also a fulfilment of the President’s promise to General Mahamat Deby Itno, the President of the Transitional Military Council of Chad, to support seamless progress towards a return to democratic rule, when he visited Nigeria in May, 2021.
“The Special Envoy, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe is an accomplished multi-lingual diplomat, who had at various times served the nation as Federal Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Constituent Assembly, Cabinet Minister and Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He had also participated in previous Nigeria-led Chadian reconciliation talks (Kano 1 & II as well as Lagos 1 & II).”
Kingibe was the vice-presidential running mate to Chief Moshood Abiola in the annulled 1993 presidential election, before later joining the government in service of military dictator General Sani Abacha and a member of his politico-military caucus as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Minister of Internal Affairs from 1995 to 1997; and later Minister of Power and Steel from 1997 to 1998.
Kingibe served from October 2002 to September 2006 as the Special Envoy of the African Union to Sudan and subsequently Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and head of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).
In September 2006, he returned to Nigeria and joined the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the 2007 presidential election won by Umaru Yar’Adua, it was widely believed that Kingibe considered running for the presidency, before later joining the Yar’Adua administration.
In June 2007, he was appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
In September 2008, with the onset of Yar’Adua’s subsequent illness and first hospitalization in Saudi Arabia, Kingibe was unceremoniously removed from office for allegedly plotting with General Abdullahi Mohammed to remove Yar’Adua from power due to his ill health.
In June 2018, Buhari recognised June 12 as Democracy Day and awarded Kingibe the second highest national honour.
