By: Emmanuel Fateman
A WORLD PRESS CONFRENCE TO DRAW THE ATTENTION OF PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR, VICE PRESIDENT KASHIM SHETTIMA, GCON, AND THE APC NATIONAL WORKING COMMITTEE UNDER THE LEADESRHIP OF DR. ABDULLAHI UMAR GANDUJE, TO THE UNFAIR AND NEEDLESS NEGLECT OF THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION AND ITS PEOPLE BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION IN APPOINTMENTS AND OTHER ACTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT SINCE MAY 29, 2023 AND TO APPEAL FOR REDRESS.
The DG/National Cordinator North Central Davelopement initiative ,(NCDI) Comrade Musa Ali Otigba in a Press conference in Abuja, recently Fauts the appointments given to people by President Tinubu led administration.
He, said that the North Central have been abandoned and urge Mr President to note that, majority of the members of this group who have gathered here today are also members and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the different states that make up the north central region.
This press briefing seeks to draw the attention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima-led federal government, to the unfair and undeserving neglect of the north central region by the government, especially in the area of appointment of heads of government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) since the inception of this administration on May 29, 2023, and to appeal to Mr. President, to please, treat every region fairly, particularly, the north central region that worked so hard for his victory, to save the region from political exclusion and irrelevance in conformity with Mr. President’s oath of offices which he agreed to treat all manners of people equally irrespective of their tribe, religion or faith professed.
We are worried that a government we worked so hard against all odds to help establish, has decided to neglect the region and its people within such a short period of time.
He said, President and our great party, the APC, that the north central geopolitical zone, which comprises of Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Plateau states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), delivered a total of 1,760,993 votes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, in the February 25, 2023 presidential election. By this number, the region produced the third highest number of votes, after South west and North west zones, which produced 2, 279,407 and 2,652,235 votes respectively. We also delivered four out of the six states in the zone to the APC during the governorship elections in addition to Kogi State which was already an APC state. But to our utmost surprise and dismay, Mr. President omitted one of his strong support base, the north central region, in his appointments of heads of key government agencies made so far.
Politics, as you all know, is about investment. If you make investment, you expect to reap out of it. But in this regard the north central region has not been adequately rewarded by Mr. President in his appointments so far as enumerated below. He said.
- APPOINTMENT OF SECURITY CHIEFS (THE ARMED FORCES)
In his appointment of security chiefs from the armed forces, no citizen of any state in the north central zone was considered by the president. From the National Security Adviser (NSA), to the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Defence Intelligence and even the Inspector General of Police (IGP), none is from the north central zone.
For the purposes of emphasis, the national security adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, is from Adamawa state, north east zone. The Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Chris Musa, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal H.B Abubakar, are both from the north west zone, Kaduna and Kano states respectively. The Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. T.A Lagbaja, and the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, are both from the south west zone, Osun and Ogun states respectively. The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral C. A. Ogalla, is from Enugu State, south east Nigeria, while the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Epa Undiandeye, is from Cross River State, south-south Nigeria.
From the analysis above, it is clear, that all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria except the north central, was considered in the national security architecture. In fact, some zones like the north west and south west got more than one slot, while the north central zone has noting. This is irrespective of the fact that we have officers of merit, competence and absolute loyalty in the region which today is under threat by all kinds of banditry and other sundry crimes.
Gentlemen of the press, please, let no one misunderstand our stand on this. We are not trying to politicize security. The point we are making is that the north central region has no representation in the security architecture in Nigeria as it stands today and we want Mr. President to do something about it.
- PARAMILITARY SECURITY SERVICES
The paramilitary security services as currently constituted, we have Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, from Ondo State as the acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, and Mr. Adeniyi Adewale, from Osun State, as the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, both of them are from the south west zone.
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Correctional Service (Prisons), Haliru Nababa, is from Sokoto state, north west zone, while the acting Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Mallam Dauda Ali Biu, is from Borno State, North east Nigeria. The only person from the north central zone, is the Commandant General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, from Nasarawa State. And rumour even have it now that Dr. Ahmed Audi may soon be removed to be replaced by someone from the north east zone, despite the laudable programmes he has initiated in the corps since he assumed office in March, 2021. This is not in the interest of justice, equity and fair play, that a government that seeks to be all inclusive in its appointments to public offices should fail to ensure that paramilitary offices are distributed accordingly to give every region a sense of belonging.
- THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA.
A recently retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Musa Mohammed Dattijo, has a few days ago, lamented the deliberate exclusion of the north central zone in the supreme court, stating that the zone has no representation on the bench of the Apex Court of the land. He particularly opined that the exclusion of north central and south east geopolitical zones in the hearing of appeals against the last presidential election by the supreme court was not only dangerous but also unpalatable and unacceptable to the interest of true justice.
We, therefore, use this medium to appeal to Mr. President to ensure that the north central region is adequately represented on the bench of the Supreme Court.
- LEADERSHIP OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Looking at the key positions in the leadership of National Assembly, namely, the senate president, deputy senate president, senate majority leader and majority whip. The speaker, House of Representatives, deputy speaker, house majority leader and majority whip positions, none is zoned to north central. The president of the senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is from the South-South zone, the deputy senate president, Senator Jibrin Barau, is from Kano, north west zone, while the senate majority leader and senate chief whip, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele from Ekiti state and Senator Ali Ndume, from Borno state, are from south west and north east zones respectively.
Similarly, the speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, is from Kaduna, also north west zone, the deputy speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, is from Abia State, south east zone, the house majority leader, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, is from Edo State, south-south, while the majority whip, Hon. Bello Kumo, is from the north east zone. Again, it is only the north central zone out of all the zones that was systematically excluded from the distribution of national assembly leadership positions. It is only the opposition party, PDP, that gave the position of minority leader to the north central zone even when we worked for and belongs to the ruling majority party.
- APC NATIONAL CHAIRMANSHIP POSITION
It is pertinent to note, that, over time, it has been the tradition of our party, the APC, to zone its national offices among the six geopolitical zones in the country. It’s in line with this tradition that, in 2022, the APC national convention planning committee, a body constitutionally empowered by the party to conduct zoning arrangement on its behalf, in its own wisdom, zoned the position of national chairman of the party to the north central zone. A national convention was held in Abuja on Saturday 26 March, 2022, where about 7, 584 delegates gathered to elect national and zonal officers that will pilot the affairs of the party for the next four years. Senator Abdullahi Adamu, from Nasarawa state, north central region, was elected as national chairman of the party at the convention. But after the purported resignation of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Mr. president unilaterally took the position away from north central zone without adequate compensation to the zone. It is an aberration. The position of national legal adviser which was later given to the zone in return, is not, and cannot be enough compensation for national chairman position. Up till this moment, we are yet to recover from the shock of that decision to deprive the north central region of its rightful place in the party.
- MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS
Even though ministerial appointment is the constitutional right of every state in Nigeria to have at least, one minister, the president however, has the exclusive right to allocate portfolios. Majority of the ministers from the north central zone were allotted the portfolios of ministers of state. The few ones that were given full minister portfolios like Hon. Simon Lalong from Plateau state, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar, from Kogi state, Joseph Utsev from Benue state, Zephaniah Jisalo, from FCT, Alhaji Muhammad Idris Malagi, from Niger state, and Dr. Jamila Bio, from Kwara state among others, none of them was given top cabinet appointment, unlike their counterparts from the other zones who were given very strategic ministries like finance, marine and blue economy, interior, works, housing and urban development, education, mines and solid minerals, FCT, petroleum and gas resources, defence, trade and investments, etc.
- GENERAL APPOINTMENT OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MDAs
In all appointments of heads of government agencies, departments and parastatals made so far by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the north central region has not been carried along as there is no important position given to anyone from the region. As mentioned earlier, top cabinet appointments were given to the exclusion of north central region.
In the same vein, the heads of very important agencies like the Nigeria army, police, customs and immigration, EFCC, CBN, Band of Industry, FIRS, FCSC, NPHCDA, NIPOST, ITF, NEPZA, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, NIWA, ARCON, NSIPA, NELMCO, and still counting, are all given to a particular region, while the north central region has almost nothing. This is not good in a country that practice democracy and said to be guided by federal character principles.
As we speak today, all our political leaders who toiled through thick and thin to convince our people in the region to vote APC/Tinubu during the election are not carried along in the government they labored so hard to bring on board. What is even more shocking to us and which we want to remind Mr. president, is that the entire structure of the presidential campaign council for Tinubu/Shettima 2023, was managed and successfully so, by the north central people. The DG of the campaign council, His Excellency, Hon. Simon Lalong, the Secretary of the council, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, the deputy secretary, Chief Christopher Tarka, and the National Youth Coordinator who mobilized the entire Nigerian youth in support of the party, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, are all from north central. At the Independent campaign council, the national coordinator of the council, His Excellency, Hon. Ali Silas Agara, the chairman of Support Groups/NGOs mobilization, His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Almakura and the secretary, Pharm. (Dr.) Ali Zakari Jiya, are also from north central, and collectively, they managed the campaign to victory. But all these people and others too numerous to mention here, except Hon. Simon Lalong, who was appointed minister, none of them is in the government they labored so hard to bring on board.
- APPOINTMENT OF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERATION (SGF), FROM THE REGION.
While we thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for appointing one of our own from the region, Senator (Dr) George Akume, from Benue state, as Secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), we are saying that the position of SGF is not enough for the entire region. we are appealing to Mr. President to, please, do more for the region. The north central people deserve more from the government.
We also want to use this opportunity to appeal to the SFG, to always ensure equitable distribution of opportunities among the states in the zone where he comes from.
- THE CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE BY OUR PARTY THE APC
It is most regrettable, that, despite the efforts, commitment and loyalty of the north central people to the APC in ensuring victory for the party in all elections in the zone, the leadership of the party has not deemed it feet to take necessary steps towards addressing the glaring discrimination against the zone, let alone calling the attention of Mr. President to the anomalies.
- OUR PRAYERS
In the spirit of equity, justice and fairness, and as a way of compensation or rewards for our efforts, we, on behalf of the north central people, do hereby make the following requests from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led APC government.
- That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of Nigeria, should do something to ensure that the north central region is adequately represented in the national security architecture.
- That in the next line of appointments, the north central region should be given priority to remedy the identified injustice and exclusion meted out to the region. The region has capable hands that can head strategic government agencies like NIMASA, NPA, NNPC Limited, BCDA, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FERMA, NEMA, RMAFC, NPC, PSC, etc, just like any other region.
- That, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should do whatever it can, to erase the suspicion in some quarters that, there is a deliberate attempt to continue to undermine the north central region and its people under this administration. The north central region deserves better deal that it has gotten so far in this government.
- We appeal to the party under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to take deliberate steps to compensate the north central for been denied its legitimate right within the party structure.
We want Mr. President and our party, the APC, to note, that, the north central region remains a strong support base of the president and the party. We are not in any way antagonizing the government but to set the record straight, to let Mr. President know that the region has not been adequately compensated.
Considering our efforts and contribution to the enthronement of this administration, the requests made above are our rights and not on the basis of any favour. But as peaceful and loyal party men and women who have tremendous respect for the president and his government, we are hereby making it an appeal to Mr. President, to please, consider these requests and make immediate pronouncements that will calm the already tensed nerves of the north central people and to save the region from political exclusion and irrelevance.
Mr. President sir, you are the father of this nation Nigeria, and we, the north central people are also your children. We still believe in your ability to correct the wrongs as we have always known you to be a leader with listening ears and who believe in justice, equity and fairness to all.
We have heard you mentioned on several fora, that whenever you are doing something wrong in any direction, your attention should be called to it. And It is only this medium that we can use to draw your attention to this neglect of the north central people, especially those that worked for your victory.
We pray that Mr. President will as usual, treat this message with every seriousness it deserves to give the north central people their rightful place in your administration.
A comprehensive list of the party stakeholders who worked days and nights for the victory of the party across the sates in the zone, shall be forwarded to Mr. President immediately for your information and necessary action.
We hereby call on the Vice President, His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima, and the chief of staff to the president, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, to intervene in these anomalies and support Mr. President in doing justice to the north central people.
We also call on the first lady of the federal republic of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as the mother of this nation, to look into our plight and appeal to her husband who is also the father of the nation, to treat the north central people fairly and look into our requests.
And to our highly respected political leaders in the north central region-the governors, ministers and members of the national assembly from the six states and the FCT, we call on you not to look the other way round because of the luxury of your offices, but to give your full support to this effort so that, together, we shall get justice for our people, as an injury to one they say, is an injury to all. Comrade Musa concluded.l
