Appointments: Tinubu’s Nepotism, Worse Than Buhari- Abaribe

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for being nepotic when it comes to making government appointments.

The senator representing Abia South made the allegation on Tuesday in Abia, saying the incumbent has implemented in breech the federal character principle which says public appointments must be shared fairly among the country’s geo-political zones.

Recall that former President Muhammadu Buhari was trenchantly criticized for favouring his kinsmen from the North with juicy government appointments while in office.

Abaribe, however, stated that President Tinubu has broken the record set by the former leader.

For instance, the senator, who spoke on a radio progamme in Umuahia, the state capital stated that at least “22 critical positions” were made by the president to favour his kinsmen from the southwest part of the country.

He said; “When Buhari started this ethnic concentration of positions; I was one of the first people to shout at it. At that time in 2016, it was very clear that Buhari was going a route that nobody had seen in this country, appointing those from his ethnic divide and religion.

“But we said that this was setting a wrong precedent for the country. We continually preached against it. We said this would be an ill wind that would not blow Nigeria any good. Now this is several years later, we have seen where this has collapsed the economy. We have gotten to a situation where the present government of President Bola Tinubu which we thought was going to repair the damaged psyche of Nigerians, is actually doubling on what Buhari did.

The president has broken the record set by his predecessor, adding that other parts of the country are holding the short end of the stick when it comes to government’s critical appointments.

Abaribe stated: “The Igbo have a saying that if a bad practice stays long, it becomes a custom. It became a culture for Buhari to concentrate appointments in his zone, and now Tinubu has continued it. It is like Tinubu saying if Buhari could do it, why can’t I do, he is even doing more than Buhari did.

“Most people who come from Buhari’s place are now finding it more difficult to complain because this is what they enjoyed in their own time. I remember a friend of mine who said, to leave Buhari to appoint who he wants, even if it is going to be from one village, so long as it will lead us beyond where we are today.

“We told him it was not going to be possible. Today, the president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu has done the same thing. You can count 22 critical positions, all the positions in the financial sector and too many are from his side.

“Let’s look at the federal character says that you are not supposed to govern in such a way to make every other person not have confidence and bring out a sense of loyalty to the people. There are 6 zones in Nigeria, out of the 6 zones, only South East continues to have just the constitutionally provided number of ministers. The South East has 5 because we have 5 states, but every other zone has more than what they are supposed to have. South West has up to 10 ministers; North West up to that number, South-South has about 9 ministers. You know have a bloated cabinet.

They are all there and ensuring that each zone gets far more than what they are supposed to get according to the constitution which states that each state is supposed to be represented by a minister. So, this tells us that the number of ministers we are supposed to have is 36 plus the one from the FCT which makes it 37. So, the maximum should be 37, but now we have close to 50 ministers.

“In all these excess, it is not also spread equally; the South West has preponderance, the North West too, then the North East before the South-South. The South East is left out and what everybody thinks is that you can do all these and get away with it. I’m telling you that from history when Buhari did it, it didn’t augur well for him and make the country better. Rather, it made the country worse, Tinubu’s government is following suit and definitely, it won’t make the country better. This is because you have to bring everybody together; it will also give a sense of belonging to all. Federal character makes citizens have confidence in the administration of the country.

“The federal character has been observed more in the breach. The federal character principle is a law promulgated by the National Assembly which gave birth to the Federal Character Commission.”

The Interparty Advisor Council, IPAC, rights groups and prominent Nigerian had criticised the appointments made by President Tinubu since assuming office, saying that they favoured the South Western part of Nigeria.