Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi in Nigeria has appointed Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson as his new Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on entertainment, arts and culture.

Johnson’s appointment was announced with 62 others in a statement issued in Lokoja on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Folashade Ayoade.

The appointments take effect from April 1, the statement said.

According to Ayoade, the rationale for the appointments was to “fill key positions with the right people and to broaden inclusiveness in governance by bringing people from more communities on board.”

The breakdown of the new appointees showed that 54 of them will serve as Senior Special Assistants while nine will work as Special Assistants to the Governor as Federal Constituency Supervisors for the Governor Yahaya Bello (GYB) Connect Programme.

The SSG further stated that the appointments were made to recognise and encourage outstanding contributions to the New Direction Agenda.

“The nine Special Assistants will also act as direct liaisons between the present administration and the Local Government Ward Coordinators of the GYB Connect Programme,” the statement said.

Right after her secondary education, Johnson auditioned for a role in The Maid, a movie that was to launch her into stardom.

Her outstanding performance in that movie paved the way for her into getting more roles in movies such as Hustlers, Baby Oku in America, War in the Palace, and many more.

She is now one of the most sought-after Nollywood actresses.

Johnson won the Best Actress award at Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards in 2013 for role in comedy movie “Dumebi the dirty girl.”

In December 2013, Johnson was listed as Google’s Most Searched Nollywood Celebrity, a position she also held in 2012.

Johnson earlier in 2009 had also won an award for best supporting actress at the African Movie Award show.