President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been called upon to be fair with his appointments while constituting members of his cabinet.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports a civil society organization known as Civil Society Groups For Good Governance (CSGGG) made the call during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
Speaking at the press conference, the President of CSGGG, Comrade Ogakwu Dominic Ogakwu said this was necessary considering the cacophony that has greeted the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Therefore, as Nigeria braces up for yet another democratic administration at the nation’s center and the All Progressives Congress (APC) dots the I’s and crosses the T’s with respect to appointment of federal ministers, the need for ethno-religious balancing and inclusion has become even more critical for socioeconomic development,” Comrade Ogakwu said.
Speaking of the ministerial configuration of the next administration, Ogakwu stressed that Tinubu and Vice-President-elect, Kashim Shettima must be seen to be deliberately institutionalizing equity, fairness and justice, so as to wean itself from the current baggage of nepotism that characterized federal appointments in the outgoing government.
“It is against this backdrop of call for balancing and inclusivity, that concerned Nigerians under the aegis of coalition of civil societies, hereby throw their weight behind the appointment of a Southern Borno person as a federal minister in the incoming administration of senators Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.
“Our support is because, for decades the southern senatorial district of Borno has suffered political inequality, injustice and exclusion in terms of state and national affairs. It is on record that southern Borno has suffered and continues to suffer national and State marginalization till date.
“The more politically advantaged Central and Northern Borno cabal, have such a stranglehold on the political equation in the state, that they continue to hijack all political offices in the state – especially the plum job of the state governorship, which has eluded the people of Southern Borno for decades despite their aspirations and contributions.
“A cursory look at the line-up of former state governors reveal a worrisome trend of exclusion and instituted conspiracy against the southern Borno people,” he said.
Comrade Ogakwu noted that all past governors, including the incumbent of Borno state, have been from the central or northern senatorial districts. He also accused the current government in the state of relegating southern Borno to the periphery, with lopsided appointments skewed in favor of Central and Northern Borno senatorial districts.
The text of the press conference reads further: “However, ours is not an ethnic agitation nor a religious protest, but a ‘moralsuation.’
“We are only appealing to the humanity which binds all of us and calling the good people of Central and Northern Borno, led by Vice-president-elect Kashim Shettima, to ‘be their brothers keepers’ this time, by backing a Southern Borno person for appointment as a federal minister, for balancing, inclusion and participation, which are key criteria for political equity, fairness and justice.
“Considering the current political setup in the state, we are particularly calling on the president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the charge for sociopolitical and socioeconomic integration, by appointing a person from Southern Borno as a federal minister – since they have already been schemed out of the political equation in Borno state in particular and Nigeria in general.
“Just as the current administration in the state schemed southern Borno out, they were equally not featured in federal ministerial appointments, with the current federal minister of state for Agriculture hailing from Borno Central, instead of using that ministerial appointment to compensate Borno south for their marginalization in the state.
“Vice- President-elect Kashim Shettima is now the political father of all in the state, since he is about to become the vice president of everyone – not only his own people. As civil society, we are appealing him to leverage on his influence in the party to mend the broken fences and build a bigger, better and more united Borno State and Nigeria, by throwing his weight behind Borno South for federal ministerial appointment, to compensate and bring them into the fold as one family.
“Considering that southern Borno is predominantly Christian and non-Kanuri, we believe that if vice-president-elect Kashim Shettima heed this ‘moralsuation’ and facilitate the inclusion of southern Borno in this federal government, it will send a strong message across the nation and the world, that the Muslim-Muslim ticket is not a prelude to religious intolerance nor a threat to Christians or other religions, but rather a government founded on equity, fairness and justice”.