Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, has said that the North is finding it difficult to speak up against the nepotistic appointment of President Bola Tinubu because their kinsman, former President Muhammadu Buhari, did the same thing when he was in power.
President Tinubu has been accused of nepotism for the somewhat lopsided appointment of technocrats from the Southwest into key positions in the country, especially the finance and economy sectors, a development the North has mutedly complained about.
Speaking on the topic, Federal Character Principle And The Future of Democracy In Nigeria on a radio program in Umuahia tagged “South East Political Roundtable,” Abaribe said was not surprised that Buhari’s kinsmen are finding it difficult to complain because they enjoyed the concentration of appointments in their zone during their time.
The former Abia Deputy Governor noted that Buhari set a bad precedent with his nepotistic appointments, which was in breach of the federal character enshrined in the constitution to give a sense of belonging to all six geopolitical zones of the country.
He also expressed dismay that Tinubu, whom he expected to correct the mistake, has toed the path of his predecessor by concentrating over 22 critical positions on his kinsmen in breach of the federal character law.
Abaribe’s statements in the radio program partly read, “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 the wrong precedent for the country. We continually preached against it. We said this would be an ill wind that would not do Nigeria any good. Now, 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 Igbo have a saying that if a bad practice stays, 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 it? 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 in the financial sector, and too many are from his side.
“Let’s look at the federal character who says that you are not supposed to govern in such a way to make every other person lack confidence and bring out a sense of loyalty to the people. There are 6 zones in Nigeria, and out of the 6 zones, only the South East continues to have the constitutionally provided number of ministers. The Southeast has 5 because we have 5 states, but every other zone has more than what they are supposed to have. The South West has up to 10 ministers; the North West has up to that number; and the South-South has about 9 ministers. You know you have a bloated cabinet.
“They are all there, 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 excesses, 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 things and get away with them. I’m telling you that from history when Buhari did it, it didn’t augur well for him or make the country better. Rather, it made the country worse. Tinubu’s government is following suit, and definitely, it definitely won’t make the country better. This is because you have to bring everybody together; it will also give them a sense of belonging. Federal character gives citizens 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 that gave birth to the Federal Character Commission. The job of the federal character commission is to essentially look at all aspects of the ministries, agencies, and departments that are running the government and ensure that there is balance within them, balancing political positions. But that’s not what we are seeing.”
