Senior
Special Assistant to the Vice President on Legal Matters, Dr. Bilkisu Saidu has
dismissed recent social media campaign about alleged anti-Islamic slant in
appointments made by and in the office of the Acting President, Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo. Dr. Saidu who described the charges of nepotism as “laughable,
untrue, unfair and should not be taken seriously,” said that on the contrary
that senior appointments even in the office of the vice-president had Muslims
in the ascendancy. Dr. Saidu, a former law lecturer at the Usmanu Dan Fodiyo
University Sokoto before her appointment in the Office of the Vice President, spoke
in an interview programme on BBC Hausa Radio on Sunday.
According to Vanguard, Transcripts of the
interview were made available from her office. “If you are talking about
religion, the most senior official or position in the Office of the Vice
President apart from the Vice President himself, is the office of the Deputy
Chief of Staff to the President and the name of the person occupying that
office is Abdulrahman Ipaye, and he is a Muslim.’’
“The positions following the
Chief of Staff’s in the order of hierarchy are the Special Advisers in the
Office of the Vice President. Here there are three Special Advisers and two out
of the three Special Advisers are Muslims, Senator Babafemi Ojudu and Barrister
Mariam Uwais from Kano State,’’ she added.
Noting that a cursory look at the
other senior positions in the Vice President’s office indicate that religious
consideration was never a factor in the appointment of the officers, she said
“If you look at the remaining senior positions in that office, most of them are
in the hands of Muslims from the north.’’
“For instance, the person in charge
of Protocol (i.e. the Director of Protocol) is Ambassador Abdullahi Gwary from
Yobe State; those in charge of welfare and health in the office of the Vice
President are mostly Muslims and from the north.
“Worthy of note are the
stewards, those who serve the Vice President’s meals, they are mostly Muslims,
so what do the critics mean when they talk about religion.’’
Concluding she
said, “when people lack what to use or have exhausted all avenues to speak evil
against perceived opponents or ridicule the good works that they are doing,
they resort to use of religion or other means possible to damage the image and
reputation of that opponent.’’
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