Presidency Apologises Over Errors in Tinubu's Appointments List

• The presidency has apologised for the errors in the list of appointments made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since May 29, 2023
• The president’s appointments have been a topic of conversation lately, as opposition politicians accuse him of favouring people from his tribe
• Senator Ali Ndume, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Borno South, in a recent interview, accused President Tinubu of violating the federal character principle in his appointments

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering public affairs.

FCT, Abuja - Sunday Dare, special adviser, media and public communication to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Thursday, April 10, apologised to Nigerians.

Legit.ng reports that the presidency apologised for the errors in the list of appointments released to counter the claim about President Tinubu’s alleged lopsided appointments.

Speaking on Arise TV’s 'Prime Time' programme on Monday, April 7, Ali Ndume, the senator representing Borno South, said Tinubu’s appointments have not reflected the diversity mandated by section 14(3) of the 1999 constitution.

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The outspoken federal lawmaker described the appointments as violations of the constitutional provision for federal character.

Responding to the lawmaker’s comment, the presidential spokesperson, in a statement released on his X handle on Wednesday, April 9, released a list of President Tinubu’s appointees and their geo-political zones.

The list showed that the president had appointed 29 people from the south-west, his home region, 35 from the north-west, 22 from the south-south, 16 from the south-east, 25 from north-centra,l and 24 from the north-east. However, President Tinubu’s critics have pointed out that the list was not comprehensive, as the name of a major appointee from the president’s home region was missing.

The omission of Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to President Tinubu, from the list further strengthened the regional imbalance allegation against the Nigerian leader, as the list clearly showed that the south-east is highly underrepresented in his government.

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As the now-deleted document sparked debate on social media, Dare wrote on his verified X (formerly Twitter) page:

"We have noticed a number of errors in the list of appointments tweeted. We are sorry. We will provide at an updated list later. Thank you."

Expert picks between federal character and competence

Dr Sulaimon Adigun Muse, a senior lecturer in the department of poltiical science education, Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Nigeria, argued that in matters of leadership, it is an aberration to resort to employ sentiment and play the ethnic or religious card.

Muse, the president of the Global Academy of Political Entrepreneurship and Leadership (GAPEL), advised that competence should be prioritised.

He told Legit.ng:

"What is best for us is to look at competence and qualification. At the same time, we need to be conscious of the fact that there has always been agitation upon agitation by purported minority groups that they are supposedly not well-represented in the Nigerian project."

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Warning President Tinubu not to over-rely on 'federal character', Muse described the principle as promoting "mediocrity".

He said:

"Federal character is a recipe for mediocrity. You should appoint people because they are qualified for a position."

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• APC governors finally visit Buhari months after shunning Tinubu-led NEC meeting

Presidency reacts amid insinuation of rift between Tinubu, Gbajabiamila

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Olusegun Dada, the special assistant on social media to President Tinubu refuted insinuations of a rift between the Nigerian leader and Gbajabiamila.

An X user had claimed that Tinubu “didn’t shake his chief of staff” while en route to Paris, France recently.

Reacting to the claim of friction between Messrs Tinubu and Gbajabiamila, Dada reposted the tweet with an authentic video and said the president "indeed greeted" his chief of staff at the Abuja airport.

Source: Legit.ng