BUHARI UNDER FIRE:Afenifere, PDP, SEPA, others knock him over lop-sided appointments

FROM: BAMIGBOLA GBOLAGUNTE, AKURE, EMMANUEL UZOR, ABAKILIKI, GEORGE ONYEJIUWA, OWERRI, OKEY SAMSON, ABA

Like a deluge, criti­cisms of President M u h a m m a d u Buhari’s appoint­ments poured from all corners and crevices yesterday, unanimously condemning, and de­scribing them as lop­sided and capable of destroying the nation’s fragile unity. The Yoruba socio- political group, Afenifere, South East Progressive Assembly, SEPA, South East Town Unions, and the Ebonyi State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), in separate statements called for an urgent review of the ap­pointments in line with the federal character principle in the nation’s Constitution.

Rising from a meeting in Akure, Ondo State, the pan yoruba socio-cultural organi­zation, Afenifere faulted the appointment of the Acting Chairman, Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs Amina Zakari alleging that her appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari did not follow due process and constitutional provisions guiding it. The organization therefore chal­lenged President Buhari to revisit the appointment and ensure that the constitution is duly followed.The pro-democracy organization described Zakari’s appoint­ment as unconstitutional and called for an immediate redress.

Zakari was recently ap­pointed as the INEC acting Chairman by President Bu­hari following the exit of Pro­fessor Attahiru Jega.

The Publicity Secretary of the organization, Mr Yinka Odumakin said “the appoint­ment of Mrs Zakari was bi­ased and therefore, unaccept­able to us as a front line ethnic organization in Nigeria.’

Afenifere therefore urged President Buhari to appoint an acceptable person as the INEC Chairman, citing the forthcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Ondo states as one of the reasons.

The organization also ob­served that there was lopsid­edness in the appointments made so far by President Buhari, stressing that “the President should be reminded of the diversity of Nigeria, and he should also know that there are credible people in other geo-political zones of the country and stop appoint­ing only Northerners into key political offices.”

Odumakin also informed that the organization con­demned what it described as ‘sole administrative’ style of President Buhari and advised the President to appoint Min­isters for effective adminis­tration of the country.

However, the group lent its weight behind the anti-corruption war of President Buhari, saying “ Afenifere believes that public officers should give account of their dealings. They however, ob­served that “there is selectiv­ity in the anti corruption war, as there are corrupt persons in all the political parties in the country.”

The group also bemoaned the increasing activities of the dreaded Boko Haram sect and tasked the security agencies to do more in ensur­ing security in all parts of the country.

In Ebonyi State, the con­troversy has taken a different dimension as stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Par­ty, PDP and the All Progres­sives Congress, (APC) dis­agreed on the pattern of Mr. President’s appointments.

Former Commissioner for Information in the state and General Manager of Ebonyi Printing Corporation, Mr. Abia Onyike blasted Presi­dent Buhari over his appoint­ments so far, describing it as lopsided and empty of social content.

“Buhari has ignored the fact that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic state. He is deliberately pursuing a Northernization policy of alienating Nigeria’s two other powerful regions, the East and the West. By making such appointments he made since assuming the Presidency, he has shown that he lacks the qualities of a nationalist and patriot.

“The lopsided appoint­ments portrayed him more as a Northern operative and a Caliphate fanatic .As it is now; the South-East and South-South have been vin­dicated for having viewed his electoral bid very criti­cally. I made the observation not long ago that Buhari was waging a secret war on the Igbos”

Onyike further said “his tragic electoral performance in the South-East should have cautioned him to make friends with the East instead of becoming fiendish and jit­tery, and planning to annihi­late the Igbos politically. He has made over 35 appoint­ments since assuming office, and made sure nobody from South-East is there”

“Buhari should know that Nigeria is a tripod, made up of three regions .Anybody ruling Nigeria must recog­nize this reality in the interest of peace, equity and fairness. The creation of 19 states for the North and manipulation of census figures by succes­sive military dictatorships headed by Northerners does not make the North superior to the other regions”

On the anti corruption war initiated by Buhari, Onyike further faulted it, describing it as another form of ethnic cleansing that would not yield any positive result other than to pursue personal ven­detta against Ndigbo and per­ceived enemies of the federal government.

“And as of now, Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade can­not stand, because it is found­ed on a dubious political ped­estal. Buhari wants to use the probe to emasculate his per­ceived political enemies-the Easterners, -while his North­ern brothers will continue to retain their oil blocs in a re­gion outside theirs. He wants to be robbing Peter to pay Paul. The resources he uses to run the Federal government and maintain the appoint­ments he makes come from the East, and yet he robs them to settle his Northern broth­ers. This is economic brig­andage and a more criminal level of political corruption”

The Deputy Governorship candidate of APC in Ebonyi state, Dr Steve Egbo, dis­agreed with the PDP and said that President Muhammadu Buhari will soon surprise the Igbos with choice appoint­ments. Egbo, a renowned academic was reacting to the recent outbursts across the country on the president’s appointment of northerners into positions.“The Igbos and other races who feel margin­alized should be patient as there were many positions still to be filled and which would surprisingly be given to them for equity sake.”

In its own reaction, the South-East Progressive As­sembly (SEPA) slammed the President for shunning South-East in the appoint­ments so far made since he assumed office as President of the country.

In a statement titled “Presi­dent Buhari’s Appointment and Ndigbo” signed by the President, Mr. Ebere Uzouk­wa, and made available to newsmen, in Owerri, Imo state capital yesterday, the group pointed out that the recent appointment of Sec­retary to the Federal Govern­ment, Chief of Staff, Comp­troller General of Customs and Immigration from the northern part of the country has clearly proven that Presi­dent Buhari does not have any plan to include Ndigbo in his government.

The Group however warned that total exclusion of Ndigbo at the APC-con­trolled federal government may resurrect the agitation for Biafra by Ndigbo.

The statement reads: “The South-East progressives As­sembly (SEPA) has observed with dismay the lopsided and the glaringly non-federal character compliant appoint­ments so far made by Presi­dent Mohammed Buhari since he assumed office as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

“The most recent appoint­ment of the Secretary to the Government of the Federa­tion (SGF), Chief of Staff, Comptroller General of Customs, Comptroller Gen­eral, Immigration, as well as Senior Special Assistants on Legislative Matters for Senate and House of Repre­sentatives from the northern part of the country has clearly proven that South East zone in the eyes of President Mo­hammad Buhari, is not a component of Nigeria”.

He added that, “Recall that President Buhari has vindictively disengaged about five persons from the South-East holding various plum positions in federal es­tablishments and hurriedly replaced them with his north­ern kinsmen. This is even as the furore generated over the alleged appointment of his cousin, Mrs. Amina Zakari and brother, Alhaji Daura as INEC Acting Chairman and Director of Department of state Services, (DSS) respec­tively is still raging in the po­litical arena.

“The deliberate exclu­sion of the South East from President Buhari- led federal government portends grave implications. Firstly, the res­urrection of the agitation of Biafra by majority of Ndig­bo. Secondly, total rejection of APC in the South-East. Thirdly, political and fatal downfall of some APC lead­ers in the South East.

“It is in view of the forego­ing that SEPA sympathizes with our political leaders in APC that not only cam­paigned vigorously for Presi­dent Buhari, but risked their precious lives to prevent elec­toral manipulation and rig­ging in the South East zone that could have returned the former president to office”.

The group also noted that the current action of President Buhari has disgraced his par­ty leaders in the South-East.

South-East Town Unions, another pan Igbo socio- po­litical group also chided Buhari, saying that it was ca­pable of threatening the unity of Nigeria.

The group which is the umbrella body of associa­tions of town unions in the five states of the South-East zone insisted that Buhari’s neglect of Ndigbo in his re­cent political appointments has given him out as a Presi­dent who seems to have a score to settle with the bloc.

In a chat with journalists in Aba, one of the leaders of the group, Chief Emeka Diwe, called on the President to live by his claims that he belongs to everybody, and sees the en­tire nation as his constituency in making appointments.

“There is no doubt that the manner of President Buhari’s appointments is threatening the unity of Nigeria. There has been tension in the coun­try since the appointments were made public. Every­body is agitated, except the core North. How can one explain a situation where all the appointments made by the President have been con­centrated in only one zone? Buhari appears not to trust other Nigerians, and this is not good for the unity of the nation. Did Buhari mean it, when he said at his inaugu­ration that he belongs to ev­erybody? Recent events are proving that he didn’t mean what he said.

“Ndigbo cannot allow themselves to be marginal­ized in a country where they have equal, if not greater stakes than other zones. What the President has done is akin to declaring total war on Ndigbo. I totally disagree with the president and his team that the appointments were made on merit. Is he telling us that people from other sections of the country are not qualified, or cannot be trusted for appointments into these grade A positions? Bu­hari should change the pat­tern of these appointments in the interest of the nation”

Diwe who is also the Pres­ident General of Associa­tion of Imo State Indigenous Town Unions, called for the building of bridges of under­standing and unity among the different political and tribal groups in Nigeria.