The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has accused President Bola Tinubu of nepotism and lopsidedness in his
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has accused President Bola Tinubu of nepotism and lopsidedness in his appointments.
The HURIWA coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement on Monday, claimed that most of the key appointments made so far by the president were people of his Yoruba ethnic group with Lagos connections.
Onwubiko cited the recent appointments of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS as attestation to his claim.
“With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent approval of the nomination of Olayemi Cardoso to serve as the substantive new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN], some 48 hours after appointing Zachaeus Adedeji as the acting chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, the strong perception that the President is pushing an unseemly pro-ethnic agenda became worryingly stronger.
“With a little over 100 days on the saddle, the President’s appointments have shown he appears to have special consideration for people from his south-west region, especially those with links to Lagos State,” he said.
The group also cautioned the president not to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, whom it accused of engaging in overwhelming tribalistic appointments.
“If President Tinubu’s appointment of new service chiefs sparked new hope and drew deserved plaudits in that it recognised the nation’s diversity, his subsequent appointments curiously depart from that template.
“That the disastrous previous administration of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) towed a visionless, divisive path in the overwhelming tribalistic appointments it made, should never excuse this course that fundamentally degrades the legitimate dream of a new, progressive, inclusive Nigerian state.
“Today, the stakes are extremely high and Nigerians are mindful that a failure to achieve democratic stability through a meritorious, transparent, inclusive governance process may imperil the country’s future as a coherent state. Mere political rewards and seeming ethnic nationalism should not drive the national journey. It is a perilous, avoidable option.
“The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria [HURIWA] strongly believes that this is the wrong path to thread, especially against the background of deep mistrust, misery, political and economic dislocations brazenly birthed by the predecessor administration. We believe that like Caesar’s Wife, the Tinubu administration ought to be above suspicion.
“We recall here that the central driving mantra and foundational philosophy on which the ruling All Progressives Congress sold its presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now President, to Nigerians, was “Renewed Hope.” Nigerians bought into it and voted the Asiwaju and APC to power because it deeply resonated with the populace. But what is the reality?,” the group queried.
“Key appointments traversing the nation’s crucial security, judicial and economic sectors are now unabashedly cornered by the South-Westr egion,” the statement added.
