By Samson Yaki
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Professor Yusuf Aminu Ahmed as Chairman/CEO of Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC).
A press statement from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, signed by the Director of Information Unit, Willie Bassey, said the appointment, which takes effect from 3rd September, 2021, is for
an initial term of three (3) years.
The statement added that the appointment is in accordance with the provision of Section 4 (1) of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (Establishment) Act of 1976.
Until his present appointment, he was the Director (Special Duties) of the Commission, Secretary of AFRA-IAEA Program Management Committee, Steering Committee Member of the International Working Group on Advancing Insider Threat Mitigation and Member of the Joint Working Group of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification.
A Professor of Nuclear Physics, Ahmed has had several years of research in Nuclear Instrumentation & Spectrometry.
Born in Yola, Adamawa State in 1970, Prof. Ahmed holds a B.Tech (Physics), MSc and PhD (Nuclear Physics) with specialization in Nuclear Instrumentation and Spectrometry.
He has received trainings from various international laboratories on Reactor Physics, Nuclear Data, Nuclear Safety, Radioisotopes Production, Waste Management, Decommissioning and Radio Analytical Techniques.
He started his career in nuclear science and technology in year 2000 at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria as part of the academic staff team of the Nigeria Research Reactor-1(NIRR-1) at the Center for Energy Research and Training (CERT).
He rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Nuclear Physics in 2017 and Director and Head of Laboratories of the Center (2015-2019).
He has served in various national and international committees on nuclear safety and security.
Prof. Ahmed is an Associate Member of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Technologist in Engineering, Fellow of the Institute of Human and Natural Resources and Member of the Nigerian Institute of Physics.
The Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1976 with the mandate to construct and maintain nuclear installations for the purpose of generating electricity, undertake research into matters relating to the peaceful use of atomic energy as well as educate and train persons in matters with respect to atomic energy and radioactive substances among others.