The head of communications at Tower Hamlets Council in East London has accepted a top job to fix the public image of the local authority in Aberdeen.
The English authority has confirmed today that Takki Sulaiman is leaving his post.
Tower Hamlets has hit the headlines in recent weeks after Communities Secretary Eric Pickles MP branded the council a “rotten borough” amid allegations of political corruption and cronyism.
Council leaders in Aberdeen believe Mr Sulaiman can improve the outward perception of the authority, which has taken a battering in recent years.
The city’s Labour-led administration has courted controversy after ditching £140million plans to redevelop Union Terrace Gardens and attempting to ban First Minister Alex Salmond from council property.
Opposition councillors have questioned whether the £80,000-a-year post is necessary, with SNP group leader Callum McCaig raising concerns over the fact that Mr Sulaiman is a former Labour councillor for Haringey.
Stephen Halsey, Head of Paid Service for Tower Hamlets, said today: “I want to thank Takki for his contribution to Tower Hamlets since March 2010.
“The borough attracts a high calibre of staff who continue to be in demand with high-profile employers across the UK, partly as a result of the experiences gained from the intensity of working for an inner city area with its unique opportunities and challenges.
“I know that Takki’s experience on working on the borough’s 2012 Olympic preparations – for which the council won an award – will be of direct relevance to a growing and ambitious city such as Aberdeen.”
Mr Sulaiman added: “I have spent five enjoyable, interesting and rewarding years communicating what Tower Hamlets has to offer London and indeed the world.
“This new post at Aberdeen City Council means that I will help present Aberdeen’s cultural and economic opportunities across the UK and internationally.
“On a personal note it is also an opportunity for my family to be nearer relatives who will need our support.”
Aberdeen City Council said it would not be issuing a statement.
However, chief executive Angela Scott, writing on a personal blog online, said the appointment “meantime remains subject to the normal pre-employment checks”.
She added that Mr Sualiam “emerged from this process as an exceptional candidate and I am certain he will be a tremendous addition to the team here in Aberdeen.”