Kano governor-elect appoints Sanusi Bature as chief press secretary

The Kano State Governor-elect, Abba Kabir-Yusuf, has appointed a veteran journalist, Sunusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, as his chief press secretary.

The appointment is contained in a letter signed on Thursday by the chairman of the Gubernatorial Transition Committee on behalf of the governor-elect.

The letter noted that Mr Dawakin-Tofa’s appointment was based on his competence, loyalty, commitment and hard work, which he exhibited since 2019.

Mr Dawakin-Tofa is a seasoned PR expert, development communication and stakeholder engagement expert with 19 years working experience in both international development, private sector and the media in Nigeria.

Until his appointment, Mr Dawakin-Tofa is a winner of the Cambridge education award on investigative journalism in 2008.

The newly appointed CPS has worked at different capacities in various national, international and bilateral organizations such as the British Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, FCDO, the United State Agency for Internal Development, USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children International, Discovery Learning Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation.

He held several positions which include general manager Corporate Services at Dantata Foods and Allied Products Limited, DFAP; director Stakeholder Engagement at YieldWise Project; country program manager at Girl Rising, ENGAGE project funded by the US Government; state project coordinator for MNCH Campaign Project of the BMGF, deputy director operations at Discovery Learning Alliance, state program officer, Policy Advocacy and Media Development, Communication and Knowledge Management specialist, among other positions.

Mr Dawakin-Tofa holds a Bachelor’s degree (B.A. Hons.) in Mass Communication from University of Maiduguri, National Diploma in Mass communication from Kaduna Polytechnic, a Higher National Diploma, HND, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health Education and Promotion.

He also bagged MSc. in Social Work with specialization in Community Development from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomosho, Oyo State and another Master’s degree in Public Relations, MPR, from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.

He participated in MSc program on Project Management at Robert Kennedy College, Zurich, Switzerland.

Mr Dawakin-Tofa served as the vice president, Nigeria operations for a UK based firm, Kingston Organic PLC.