Bala Mande
| Bala Mohammed Mande | |
|---|---|
| Administrator of Nasarawa State | |
|
In office 6 August 1998 – 29 May 1999 |
|
| Preceded by | Abdullahi Ibrahim |
| Succeeded by | Abdullahi Adamu |
| Federal Minister of Environment | |
|
In office Jul 2003 – Jun 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Hassan Adamu |
| Succeeded by | Iyorchia Ayu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1958 |
Colonel Bala Mohammed Mande is a former Military Administrator of Nasarawa State. He was later appointed Minister of the Environment in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Bala Mande hails from Zamfara State. He was appointed Military Administrator of Nasarawa State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007 during the transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, handing over to the elected Governor Abdullahi Adamu on the return to democracy. He was a harsh critic of governor Ahmad Rufai Sani for his implementation of Sharia law in the 2000-2003 period, which he felt was being used to punish political opponents, with the spoils going to Sani's ANPP supporters. He was the People's Democratic Party candidate for governorship of Zamfara State in 2003, but lost to the incumbent Ahmad Sani of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).
Mande was appointed Minister of the Environment in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo in July 2003, holding office until June 2005. In September 2003 he signed an agreement with Cameroon's Minister of Environment and Forestry Chief Tanyi-Mbianyor Clarkson for a transboundary protected area combining the Takamanda and Okwangwo reserves to protect the Cross River gorilla, the world's rarest subspecies of gorilla with only 280 individuals throughout its entire range.
In October 2003 he proposed a national conference on the environment as the only solution to the desperate and varied environmental degradation which were compounded by years of neglect. The same month, he said the Lake Chad River Basin Commission would be rejuvenated to tackle the environmental problems of that region. The federal government would return the Chad Basin area to its past glory when it offered water for agricultural activities, as well as supporting tourism. He said his ministry would provide all the technical experts the commission might require executing the commission's projects. He announced approval by UN's Global Environment Fund (GEF) World Bank of a $10 million developmental fund.
...
Wikipedia