Former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has appointed Prof. Usman Yusuf as special adviser on community engagement to the Atiku, Okowa Presidential Campaigns.
In a letter personally signed by the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku charged Prof. Yusuf to use his vast experiences and contacts to effectively discharge the responsibilities of his office.
The professor is by this appointment charged to provide advisory services on community engagement related issues by identifying community-based organisations (C30s) for necessary interface with local communities, organising creative programs and events regularly with relevant stakeholders of the local community with the goal of galvanising support for the PDP candidate and ensuring victory in the election.
He is also charged to build strong relationships with local community leaders, community-based organisations, gender and various age groups in the grassroots for the propagation of Atiku’s plans and ideas so as to ensure acceptability and necessary support in the local communities.
Yusuf was the former executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The professor of haematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation and an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University had in an interview opined that it will be difficult for the All Progressives Congress (APC), presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu to campaign in the south-east.
He had written several articles in support of the candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and has been generally seen as a strong supporter of the PDP candidate.
