The recent massive and historical appointmentsmade by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday
has been trailed by controversy
has been trailed by controversy
Buhari on Friday approved the constitution of the governing boards of
agencies and parastatals.
He has also appointed 209 chairmen and 1258 members to fill the board
positions.
A through look into the appointment list shows that a some of the
appointees are dead while some names where duplicated with more than one agency
appointment.
‘DEAD
PERSONS’
Francis Okpozo, believed to be the second republic senator that died in
2016, was appointed as chairman of the Nigerian Press Council.
The late ex-senator battled with an undisclosed ailment at a private
hospital in Benin.
Coincidentally, when the ex-senator died, the president in a statement by
his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, commiserated with “the family and friends of
the late senator, whose championing of social justice in the Niger Delta,
during his long history of service to the people, endeared him to many.”
Until his death, he was a chieftain of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC, in Delta State.
Neither the presidency nor the SGF, Boss Mustapha, was able to clarify on
Saturday morning that the Mr. Okpozo appointed to the NPC board is different
from the late former senator. They were also not able to clarify the other
controversial appointments.
Mr. Buhari’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, simply referred PREMIUM TIMES to
Mr. Mustapha’s office.
“Contact the SGF office, he is the person handling it,” he said.
An aide to the SGF, however, said he was on holiday and could only speak
upon resumption on Wednesday.
Another controversial appointee is Donald Ugbaja, who is believed to be a
late former deputy inspector general of police.
The former police chief died a few weeks ago.
Mr. Ugbaja was appointed a board member of the Consumer Protection
Council.
A third person, Christopher Utov, was appointed board member of the
Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research.
He is believed to be the same person as a Catholic priest from Benue
State who died on March 18.
DUPLICATIONS
The list of the new appointees also shows duplication of names, with few
persons appointed into more than one board.
Sabo Nanono was appointed a member of the board of the National Agency
for Science and Engineering, NASENI. He was, however, also appointed as
chairman of the Board of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, NTDC.
Kabiru Matazu was appointed as chairman of FCT Universal Education Board
and also appointed to chair the board of Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
Umaymah Abdullahi was named on the board of Lake Chad Research Institute,
Maiduguri as well as the Federal Medical Centre, Sokoto.
Also, Habiba Umar was appointed on the board of the Federal Medical
Centre, Yola and also Federal Medical Centre, Birnin-Kebbi.
THE
NON-APC APPOINTEES
A Kano governorship aspirant, Ibrahim El-Amin, popularly known as Little,
was appointed board member of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo.
In August, Mr. El-Amin decamped from APC to PDP in what was seen as
heralding the eventual defection of the former Nigeria Vice President, Atiku
Abubakar.
Another person from Kano and close confidant of Mr. Abubakar, Murtala
Adhama, was also appointed into the board of Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority.
Mr. Adhama, though not known to be a party man in Kano politics, is,
believed to be among Mr. Abubakar’s close strategists.
Another ally of Mr. Abubakar that made it into the list is Bashir
Ibrahim. Mr. Ibrahim is factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Movement,
PDM.
He was appointed member of the board of Benin-Owena River Basin
Development Authority.
It is unclear if the three men would pick up their appointments, or
ignore them considering the new political stance of Mr. Abubakar.
However, it is not illegal or inappropriate to appoint opposition
politicians into such offices. A serving minister, Aisha Alhassan, is still
holding on to her office, despite her public pledge of loyalty to Mr. Abubakar
who is expected to be a PDP presidential candidate in 2019.
REASONS FOR GAFFES
While both the SGF and the presidency are yet to officially clarify the
controversies, a source in the presidency told PREMIUM TIMES of the likely
cause of the mix-ups.
“The list was compiled in 2015,” the source said.
He explained that after Mr. Buhari’s October 1 statement of the imminent
establishment of the boards, the president advised that that list compiled in
2015 be given priority as he considered it to be a fair one.
“But that does not stop the SGF from doing due diligence to prevent all
the gaffes,” the source said.
The source’s explanation would clarify the inclusion of the ‘dead’
persons and loyalists of Mr. Abubakar. All the three dead men mentioned in this
story were alive in 2015. Also, Mr. Abubakar and Mr. Buhari were still close in
2015 with the former vice president still a chieftain of the ruling party.
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