By Felix Durumbah
Having apparently released a rushed list of federal appointments replete with errors, the Presidency today apologized to Nigerians, saying it will issue an updated one later.
“We have noticed a number of errors in the list of appointments tweeted. We are sorry. We will provide an updated list later. Thank you,” Special Adviser, Media & Public Communication/Spokesperson to the President, Sunday Dare appealed to Nigerians on X.
The drama kicked off following an interview Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) granted Arise TV during which he moved to hold President Bola Tinubu’s administration accountable by claiming that it was being nepotistic in appointments, filling many positions only with his ethnic kinsmen/women.
Ndume is in the same ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as President Tinubu.
The geopolitical spread of Tinubu’s appointments has been brought to the microscopic searchlight of public discourse recently as opposition politicians and other Nigerians accused the president of nepotism in alleged violation of the constitutional federal character stipulation.
In the interview, Sen. Ndume said he decided to call the president’s attention to what he described as his lopsided appointments because, as a lawmaker, he has constitutional liberties to hold the President accountable, though they belong to same APC.
Obviously uncomfortable, the presidency unfurled a list of President Tinubu’s appointees geopolitical zone-by-geopolitical zone.
According to the list, Tinubu had appointed 29 persons from his native South-West, 35 from the North-West, 22 from the South-South, 16 from the South-East, 25 from North Central, and 24 from the North-East.
After critically studying the list, critics of President Tinubu noticed that the list was not comprehensive because, among others, the list did not contain the name of Femi Gbajabiamila, the President’s Chief of Staff, who hails from same South-West as the President.
Furthermore, the list played into the hands of the critics who wasted no time in pointing to the lack of balance in the appointments as a major geopolitical zone, the South-East, appeared shortchanged.
With hot debates raging on social media over the matter, presidential aide, Dare, again addressed Nigerians on X, apologizing and promising to come up with the accurate list.
However, Nigerians are awaiting to see if the fresh list will also address the vexed matter of regional imbalance tilted against the South-East for an administration that preaches adherence to constitutionalism, equity, fairness and justice.
