Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South senatorial district at the National Assembly, has raised concerns about President Bola Tinubu’s recent appointments, suggesting that they may be in violation of the federal character law.
These concerns have not gone unnoticed, and Asari Dokubo, in a trending Tiktok video, has also expressed his dismay over the issue.
Abaribe emphasized that the federal character law, designed to ensure equitable distribution of appointments among the six geo-political zones, appears to have been disregarded by the Buhari administration.
He lamented that Tinubu’s approach seems to mirror that of the former administration, concentrating more than 22 crucial positions within his ethnic group, potentially contravening the principles of the federal character law.
His words “When Buhari started this ethnic concentration of positions, I was one of the first people to shout at it. At that time in 2016, it was very clear that Buhari was going a route that nobody had seen in this country, appointing those from his ethnic divide and religion.
“But we said that this was setting a wrong precedent for the country. We continually preached against it. We said this would be an ill wind that would not blow Nigeria any good.
“Now this is several years later, we have seen where this has collapsed the economy. We have gotten to a situation where the present government of President Bola Tinubu which we thought was going to repair the damaged psyche of Nigerians, is actually doubling on what Buhari did.
“The Igbo have a saying that if a bad practice stays long, it becomes a custom. It became a culture for Buhari to concentrate appointments in his zone, and now Tinubu has continued it.
“It is like Tinubu saying if Buhari could do it, why can’t I do, he is even doing more than Buhari did. Most people who come from Buhari’s place are now finding it more difficult to complain because this is what they enjoyed in their own time.
“Today, the president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu has done the same thing. You can count 22 critical positions, all the positions in the financial sector and too many are from his side.”
