Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has raised an alarm over an orchestrated plot by Northerners to frustrate him out of office, by raising baseless allegations against the appointments he has made so far.
Osinbajo, through his Senior Special Assistant on Legal Matters, Dr Bilkisu Saidu, while speaking on “Shirin Safe”, a programme on the BBC Hausa service, described that allegation as “unfair, laughable, and untrue”.
Recall, that a statement was credited to one Ismaila Farouk, about the recent appointments into some Federal Agencies, and others in the Office of the Vice President.
Farouk, had said that Osinbajo’s recent appointments were majorly Yorubas, and members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG.
In a reaction however, Osinbajo said contrary to Farouk’s conclusions, most senior positions in the Vice President’s Office, were held by Muslims, including individuals from the North.
“If you are talking about religion, the most senior official or position in the Office of the Vice President, apart from the Vice President himself, is the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, and the name of the person occupying that office is Abdulrahman Ipaye, and he is a Muslim.
“The positions following the Chief of Staff, in the order of hierarchy, are the Special Advisers in the Office of the Vice President. Here, there are three Special Advisers, and two out of the three Special Advisers are Muslims, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, and Barrister Maryam Uwais, from Kano State”, she said.
She added that a cursory look at the other senior positions in the Vice President’s Office, indicated that religious consideration was never a factor in the appointment of the Officers.
“If you look at the remaining senior positions in that Office, most of them are in the hands of Muslims from the North. For instance, the person in charge of protocol (i.e. the Director of Protocol) is Ambassador Abdullahi Gwary from Yobe State; those in charge of welfare and health in the Office of the Vice President, are mostly Muslims and from the North.
“Worthy of note are the stewards, those who serve the Vice President’s meals; they are mostly Muslims. So what do the critics mean when they talk about religion?” she asked.
She said when: “Non-progressive minded people fail to win public support on their personal agenda, they often resort to the use of religion, given its sensitivity among Nigerians.”
