The Northern Elders Forum has called on Nigerians, especially the Igbo in the South-East, to be patient with President Muhammadu Buhari on his alleged lopsided appointments, saying the President is picking only those he can trust as close aides.
The President had named only one southerner among the initial nine political appointments he made.
The northerners in the first appointments are the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura; acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mrs. Amina Zakari; the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Mordecai Danteni Baba Ladan; and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris.
Others are the President’s Chief Security Officer, Abdulrahman Mani; State Chief of Protocol, Abdullahi Kazaure; Aide-De-Camp, Lt. Col. Muhammed Abubakar; and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Only the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, hails from Osun State in the South-West.
The second set of appointments, which was announced through a statement by Adesina on Thursday, which had only one southerner, had caused public outcry.
The appointees are Babachir David Lawal from Adamawa State, who was named Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Mr. Abba Kyari, from Borno, Chief of Staff; Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), from Kano, Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service; Mr. Kure Martin Abeshi, from Nasarawa, Comptroller-General, Nigerian Immigration Service; and Suleiman Kawu, from Kano, SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).
The only southerner on the list, Senator Ita Enang, was named the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate).
Speaking to newsmen on the criticisms generated by the appointments, the Vice Chairman of the NEF, Dr. Paul Unongo, said Buhari had a better understanding of Nigeria, based on his experience as a general, a former Head of State and as President of the country.
He said Buhari would not work against the unity of the country, considering his experience after his military regime and three failed attempts at the Presidency.
Unongo said, “I want people to look at Buhari as somebody that has gone through the rough and tumble of this nation in the political and military arena. It will be very stupid of him to just take anybody.
“It is his innermost people that are going to help him to implement his clearly-stated ideological orientation against corruption; those who want to give total service. We must know he cannot entrust such responsibility very easily.
“With a military coup against him, and 17 years of struggle, I think this young-old man, at 72, should be allowed to select the team he trusts most to face the security and economic challenges of Nigeria, as well as the lawlessness and impunity of the last administration.”
The northern leader argued that Buhari, who waited 17 years after which he contested the presidency four times, must have had an idea of the type of country he wants Nigeria to become.”
The former steel minister added, “This is the third month of his Presidency and he has not been given the chance to settle down. The people that are trying to play politics by saying that a section of the country has not been reflected (in his appointments) should tarry a little. We will be the first people to shout. He is bringing everybody in Nigeria on board.
“I think it is too early. If somebody is going to appoint someone that is going to be speaking on his behalf, should he go and appoint someone that he doesn’t trust? Should he appoint people that are going to compromise? Should he appoint people that don’t believe in him as a person?”
The elder statesman urged Nigerians, especially the Igbo, to wait till the President announces members of his cabinet. He further stated that it was right to remind President Buhari of “his obligations to morality,” which made him to fight the Biafran War to unite the country.
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