From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Basheer Garba Muhammed, naming Fatima Waziri- Azi (PhD) as his replacement.

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the new appointment follows the recommendation of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, who expressed the ‘urgent need for the Ministry to intensify on the existing capacity in the NAPTIP in order to achieve its Key Result Areas as identified.’

Farouq added that the recommendation of Fatima Waziri-Azi was based on her ‘pedigree, vast experience and proven track record to drive the agency forward and consolidate on what has been achieved so far.’

A former Head of the Department of Public Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Waziri-Azi is a Women’s Rights advocate, a campaigner against domestic and sexual-based violence and an expert in Rule of Law.

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In May, President Buhari had okayed the swapping of positions by two heads of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The swap, the Presidency explained, was in order to realise and sustain the government’s abiding desire for effective and efficient service delivery in the two organisations.

Ibrahim had taken over from Basheer Garba Mohammed as the Honourable Federal Commissioner for the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), while Mohammed was named DG NAPTIP.

The president had in December 2020 sacked the previous Director General of the Agency, Julie Okah-Donli, and appointed a replacement, Sulaiman-Ibrahim, a holder of BSc (Sociology), Masters of Arts (Management) and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degrees and Nasarawa State indigene.