Buhari’s appointments: Case for Northern CRS

With the appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari so far into his government, the people of Cross River State do not have any much cause to complain; only that being humans, we all will desire to have more than we are given already. However, perhaps because of pressure, genuine oversight or honest mistake and lack […]

With the appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari so far into his government, the people of Cross River State do not have any much cause to complain; only that being humans, we all will desire to have more than we are given already. However, perhaps because of pressure, genuine oversight or honest mistake and lack of adequate knowledge of the geo-political configuration of the CRS, the political children of Buhari in the large APC family in the Northern Senatorial District of the state, have a little cause to grumble.
And this is because the appointments the President has so far made from the state, have, quite unfortunately, only gone to citizens in the Southern and Central senatorial districts to the total exclusion of people in the Northern Senatorial District.
As lawyers would put it, the following facts regarding his CRS appointments speak for themselves: We have the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, from the Southern Senatorial District; Mr. Thomas John who is now amember of the newly constituted board of the NNPC; one of the two nominated career ambassadors from the state is also from there as well as the National Vice-Chairman of the APC for the South-South geo-political Zone.
As for the Central Senatorial District, we have the Minister of the Niger Delta Ministry, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani; the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas, so also are Barrister Ofem Okoi Obono Obla, SA to the President and Eric Ifere, Member, Prosecution Advisory Committee. We also want to add to the list from the Central one of the two ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate for confirmation. It is now common knowledge that the President has nominated the former
Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, another Cross riverian from the Central Senatorial District, for confirmation by the Senate as the Chairman of the NDDC Board.
Keen observers of CRS politics are all aware of the more than enthusiastic role played by the State Governor, Ben Ayade, who is from the North, in the emergence of Ndoma-Egba as the NDDC Chairmanship candidate nominee. Ayade, a PDP governor, who, ordinarily, should have no business as to who represents the state in the APC government at the centre, backed Ndoma-Egba who is from the Central, out of enlightened self-interest and not out of any consideration for fairness, equity and good conscience.
This commentator wants to have the President know that the CRS governorship has been zoned to the Northern Senatorial District where Ayade hails from. Ayade rooted for a person from the Central not necessarily   likes that person but essentially because he does not want Mr. President to appoint someone from the North who by such an appointment will be empowered to possess and distribute political largesse and in the process, acquire clout to challenge his possible re-election come 2019.
One also has cause to suspect that Ayade wants the President to neglect Northern CRS where he comes from so that there will be massive disenchantment of the people with the APC so he can have a smooth sail. We are hereby drawing Mr. President’s attention to this unholy politrick meant to undermine him and his party, the APC.
We know that more other Federal appointments are coming andthat is precisely why we want to draw the President’s attention as well as that of his able key assistant the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, to the small but significant anomaly of his seeming overlooking of the people of Northern CRS in his appointments. What one is saying here in regards to the President’s appointments in the South and Central parts of the state vis-a- vis the neglected North, should not in any way be misconstrued as the case of the people of CRS fighting themselves over appointments into Buhari’s government. No such thing is happening.
There is no quarrel whatsoever over the persons that have so far been given positions by the President. They are each eminently qualified for what they have been given and deserve the recognition accorded them by the number one citizen of the land. As a matter of fact, Cross riverians as a whole appreciate the loving gesture that President Buhari has shown towards them and their state but we want him to give us more irrespective of where those persons might come from within the state. There is no part of the state that bears another part any ill-will because those parts have been favoured. All the people of CRS want is that we should get some more but the more that is to comes hould be specifically targeted at that part that is yet to get.
That is our honest prayer and expectation and we think it is not a bad prayer or an ignoble expectation.
For emphasis, what we are saying here is that for the purpose of balance, inclusiveness and the maintenance of cohesion among the APC family in the state, the President should in his subsequent appointments ensure that there is spread to reach the so far neglected part of the state. Incidentally, that part of the state, the Northern Senatorial District, is where the APC candidate for governor in 2015, Mr. Odey Ochicha, comes from.
We are humbly suggesting and pleading here that the forthcoming appointments into Federal Boards should reflect the principle of federal character in respect of the state. The position of the chairmanship of the Board of the NDDC which came to the state again went to the Central and not to the North as expected. But all hopes are not lost for the North. The position of the state’s representative on the Commission’s Board is still left. It is suggested here that that one should come from the Northern Senatorial District for the sake of fairness, equity and justice.

Engr. Paul Obi writes from Obanlikwu, Cross River State