The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has appointed Ola Awoniyi to replace Festus Adedayo as his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

The appointment comes weeks after he reversed his appointment of Mr Adedayo for the position.

He had appointed Mr Adedayo as his media aide but the decision was opposed by government loyalists who said Mr Adedayo was a harsh critic of the administration.

In his reaction, Mr Adedayo, a journalist and columnist, told PREMIUM TIMES he did not canvass for the position and that those condemning his appointment mistook him for a politician.

Mr Lawan also appointed Karage Mohammed Mamman as his Deputy Chief of Staff.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Isa.

Mr Awonyi, 58, according to the statement, is a graduate of University of Ibadan where he obtained a B.Sc in Psychology and holds Masters in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (MLC) and Masters in International Affairs and Diplomacy (MIAD) both from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

He also obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the International Institute of Journalism, Abuja in 1997.

He worked with Nigerian Tribune for over a decade before he joined the services of Agence France-Press (AFP), where he was the head of Abuja office.

Other appointments made by the Senate President were Abubakar Sidiq Usman as Special Assistant on New Media, Kabir Adamu as Special Adviser on Security and Intelligence, and Muhammad Mukhtar Yawale as Special Adviser on Health.

All the appointments are with immediate effect.

The new Deputy Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Mr Karage, is a graduate of University of Sokoto where he obtained Bachelor of Arts (Education).

He retired as Director in Federal Ministry of Education in 2018.

Abubakar Usman graduated from the Federal University of Technology, Minna where he obtained both his first and second degrees.

Mr Sidiq was the head of Social Media Unit of the Field Operations Directorate of All Progressive Congress (APC) during the 2019 general elections.