Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
August 30, 2015 – The Progressive Peoples Alliance(PPA) has described recent appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari as a further confirmation of fears that he is pursuing a regional agenda.
The PPA made the observation in a statement signed by National Chairman of the party, Chief Peter Ameh.
Last Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Mr. Babachir David Lawal as Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The president also appointed a former Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and a member of THISDAY Editorial Board, Alhaji Abba Kyari, as his Chief of Staff.
The President also appointed Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.) as Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS),
Other appointments were Senator Ita S.J Enang as his Senior Special Assistant (SSA), National Assembly Matters (Senate), while Hon. Suleiman A. Kawu was made his SSA, National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives)
But in the statement, the PPA said the ruling party is blessed with stalwarts and gate keepers from all zones of the country including members from the South East who staked everything to canvass support for the party in their zones with some many friends of the president like Ogbonnaya Onu and others who contributed so much to the successes recorded by APC.
“One would have expected the President to justify the faith of these de-tribalised leaders by proving them right before their people in spreading such sensitive appointments round.
“It’s is painful to see that the South East zone which constitute the third leg of the tripod on which Nigerian nation was built as at independence and even today was conspicuously missing from all the sensitive appointments so far made since his resumption of office as our dear President.
“These appointments have shown clearly the level of bias the current APC-led Federal Government is showing towards the development of the Igbo people and other minority tribes in the country.
“Even if the Federal Government has at least selected anybody of Igbo extraction from Rivers State to create some level of resemblance of political balance, the appointment would have gone down on a very good note. Not even PDP at the perceived height of governance and celebration of absolute power was this parochial in its appointment of officials to sensitive position in the affairs of the country”, he said.
He described Femi Adesina’s defence of the President’s action as watery and does not make any reasonable sense because of the huge religious and socio-cultural diversity of Nigeria.
“Ministerial appointments which is likely to be the next set of appointments cannot and will not correct the necessary imbalance created by the ones so far made.
“It is our humble opinion that there should be some sense of fairness, equity and balance in all appointments at the Federal level so that justice can be seen to be done to all zones of the country”, Ameh said.
