Former Senate Leader and lawmaker representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to consider the South East in future appointments to ensure national balance and equity.
Reacting to the recent appointments into boards of federal agencies, he said in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday that:
“The wrong narrative that the South East has been abandoned and would not count in patronage distribution should not be allowed to fester for long.
“It is even a breach of the Federal Character principle, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, to strip an entire region of adequate representation.
“This is a big misstep that must be corrected. Every part of the country deserves a sense of belonging in a federation”.
Ndume urged the President to embrace wider inclusivity going forward.
His words, “While I acknowledge Mr. President’s steadfastness with these appointments, we are hopeful that subsequent nominations will reflect broader national inclusiveness, by accommodating more individuals from the South East”.
However, he commended the President over the appointments, describing them as timely and responsive to the concerns of the northern region.
The appointments include Chairperson of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority, Lydia Musa; Chairman of the National Educational Research and Development Council, Jamilu Aliyu and Chairman of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Yahuza Inuwa.
There were also Chairman of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Sanusi Musa (SAN) and Muhammad Babangida, son of former military President Ibrahim Babangida, who was named Chairman of the restructured Bank of Agriculture.
Others are Director-General of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa, Prof Al-Mustapha Aliyu; Director-General of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, Sanusi Rikiji; and Executive Director of the Integrated Water Resources Management Commission, Abdulmumini Aminu-Zaria.
A breakdown of the appointments shows that Kano and Kaduna States got three and two slots respectively, while Sokoto and Zamfara secured one each.
Aside from Muhammad from Niger State in the North Central, Oyo State in the South West produced Tomi Somefun as Managing General of the National Hydro-Electric Power Areas Development Commission.
Ndume, however, was convinced that the president took deliberate steps to address agitations from the North.
According to him, “These appointments and the one he did last May when he gave 12 key agencies to competent individuals from the North were assuring enough.
“It goes to show that he is a responsive leader who listens to criticisms and surrenders to genuine and legitimate agitation.
“These two appointments will reassure the North, particularly its elders, that President Tinubu isn’t a leader that will deliberately promote an agenda to alienate the region which stood with him during the last general elections.”
The President had on Friday appointed Muhammad Babangida, son of former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, as Chairman of the revamped Bank of Agriculture.
His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the appointments in a statement.
