In a new development, former minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, has been named the managing partner of the Nigerian branches of Ballard Partners, an international lobbying firm.

The firm announced the new role in a statement made available to Politics Nigeria.

According to the statement, the organisation is expanding to Nigeria and opening its branches in Abuja and Lagos.

Speaking on the appointment, Brian Ballard, the firm’s president and founder, Mohammed was given the role because he “is one of the most respected officials in the country”.

The statement read in part:

‘Mohammed has been the voice of national progressive politics and governance for the last twenty-five years. For the last eight years as Minister of Information and Culture between 2015 and 2023 Minister Mohammed has served as the spokesperson, reputation manager and information management strategist-in-chief of Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy.

‘He is the first two term Minister of Information and Culture in the history of Nigeria. In 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari conferred Mohammed with one of the nation’s highest honors, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) for service to the country.

‘Since the advent of Nigeria’s fourth republic in 1999, Mohammed played key roles in the political life of his country as Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Executive Governor of Lagos, National Spokesperson for the Opposition for over a decade (2005- 2015) and as a candidate for the Governorship of Kwara State in the 2003 General Elections.’