By Ayodele Oni
Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Federal Government under the President Muhammadu Buhari, has criticized some of the appointees of President Bola Tinubu into high profile offices.
In a statement he issued on Tuesday, Lawal said “the band of appointees that Bola is assembling into his Government don’t care about Nigeria at all.”
He pointed out that Mr President had talked highly about competence while he was campaigning for the office but insisted that his appointments do not reflect competence.
He specifically pointed out the President’s appointment of Yemi Cardoso as the CBN Governor and that of former Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle as the Minister of State, Defence and described both as unfit. He said that Cardoso was just a one-time Chairman of “a little-known bank employing 300 people in less than 12 branches clustered in the South-South and South-East regions.” As for Matawalle, Lawal asked what an accountant was doing as Minister of Defence. “Was he not that one who was Governor while Bello Turji et al freely terrorized Zamfara State?”
He said nobody trusts the President and his appointees as such appointments were made as a reward for their relationship with the President.
His words: “Confusion and despondency is now all over the nation as no one trusts the government to do what it says it will do. No one trusts the leader; and no one trusts appointees who are appointed as rewards for their roles in the election or who had in the past helped him in his life.
“Bola, the President, and his group are now in government and are in full control of Nigeria’s vast resources and opportunities. They are enjoying their offices while Nigerians languish in insecurity, poverty and hopelessness.
“During the campaign, Bola mouthed some platitudes about competence; but we are so far yet to see it reflected in his political appointments. It seems more like he is rewarding people who supported him to get the Presidency at all cost.
“This band of appointees that Bola is assembling into his government don’t care about Nigeria at all.
“Fuel prices will continue to gallop upwards until only they can afford it; the Naira will continue to race downhill in a free-fall until only they can afford anything in the market; insecurity will continue its escalation until every community in the nation is consumed by it.
“Just to mention a few of these appointees: take insecurity for example; what do you expect an accountant to do as Minister of Defence?
“Was he not that one who was governor while Bello Turji et al freely terrorized Zamfara State?
“What about his CBN Governor with a CV; a one-time Chairman of a little-known bank employing 300 people in less than 12 branches clustered in the South-South and South-East regions?
“Is there any doubt left as to his lack of qualification and experience for the job than that his first policy statement was to remove foreign exchange restrictions for the importation of 43 agricultural and related products?
“Certainly, Nigerians are in for a short thrift. The people running the government do not care a hoot about the Nigerian people; their cronies are the petroleum industry players while some are the banking system players, so a free fall of the Naira and an unregulated upward movement of oil prices both work for more profits for them.”
Tinubu and Lawal were close friends and political allies before they parted ways over Tinubu’s choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate. Lawal was vocally against the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
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