President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Dr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma as Minister of Housing and Urban Development. He replaced Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, who was said to have resigned two days ago.

Darma was confirmed by the Senate yesterday.

President Tinubu, at the short ceremony at the State House, congratulated Dr Darma for coming on board at this “very challenging time of national development. 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,” he said.

The President told him to be ready to serve in any capacity in which he is called upon.

Dr Darma is a 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, USA.

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, Dr 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 this appointment, he was the President of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Human Development Centre in Katsina.