Appointments: Pandemonium as Buhari  favours Northerners, 8 out of 9 appointments made so far…

Nigerians especially those from the Southern part of the country on Friday, expressed concern over the appointments made so far by President Muhammadu Buhari.

They said the appointments were lopsided and not in the best interest of the country.

President Buhari is from Katsina State, Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, are from Kwara and Bauchi states respectively. The judiciary is led by Justice Mahmud Mohammed from Taraba State.

Of the nine appointments made by Buhari so far, eight are from the North, while one is from the South. The appointments are: Director-General of the State Services, Lawal Daura, Katsina State; Acting Chairman, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, Jigawa State; Director, the Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Mordecai Danteni Baba Ladan; and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, Kano State.

Others are the State Chief of Protocol, Mallam Lawal Abdullahi Kazaure; Aide De Camp, Lt.-Col. Muhammed Lawal Abubakar, Kano State; Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu; and Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, South-West.

The appointments, however, drew the ire of Nigerians who asked Buhari to respect the country’s principle of federal character.

The Igbo World Union and the Ohanaeze Youth Council described the President’s actions as a threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria.

The OYC National President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said, “Buhari should not abuse his privileged position as the President of Nigeria for the moment. He should not forget our federal system but reflect the federal character in his appointments.

“We are warning him to drop the Northern agenda and govern Nigeria in line with the constitution which he sworn to protect. We will hold him by his statement that ‘he is for nobody and for everybody ‘ except he now wants to tell us that he is the President of the North alone.”

The National President of Njiko Igbo Forum, Reverend Okechukwu Obioha, warned Buhari against running what he described as a “Northern government.”

Obioha expressed the fear that the trend, if left unchecked, could destroy the country.

He said, “Buhari is simply running a Northern government. He is making his appointments as if he is angry with other sections of the country. The appointments are lopsided in favour of the North and that is not acceptable.”