ORONSANYE EMERGES NEW HEAD OF SERVICE
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday appro-ved the appointment of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Steve Oronsanye, as the new Head of Service of the Federation. He will succeed Ms Ama Inyingiala Pepple who retires on Monday.
Pepple is retiring after clocking 60 years, the mandatory age for retirement.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, annou-nced the appointment to State House Correspondents after the extra-ordinary Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday.
Oronsanye before his appointment as Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance had served as Permanent Secretary at the State House under the Obasanjo administration for eight years.
Pepple was appointed Head of Service on June 16, 2008 after the retirement of Mr. Ebele Okeke, who spent just seven months on the saddle having clocked age 60 on June 14, 2008.
The former Head of Service was before her appointment the permanent secretary of Ministry of Finance and had also served as lecturer in political science in Rivers State before joining the Federal service as Deputy Secretary, Constituent Assembly, 1988-89. She held a variety of positions in the legislative arm of government, ending up as the clerk of the Senate in 1992. She was involved in the various transitions to civil rule institutions from 1996-1998, including being the secretary of the transition implementation committee.
She worked as permanent secretary in several of the ministries, including transportation, information, national orientation, petroleum resources, commerce, agriculture, water resources and finance.
Pepple has published many papers on women empowerment and community development.
An Accountant, Oronsanye came into government from Peat Marwick, Ani, Ogunde firm of chartered accountants from where he served as personal assistant to his former boss, Chief Anthony Ani. Ani served the Abacha government as Minister of Finance.
He left government with Ani when the Abdulsalami government changed the cabinet in 1998 but he was brought back to the presidency in 1999 when the then newly elected President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him as permanent secretary, State House.