Lai Mohammed Comments On Buhari's Appointments

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Lai Mohammed

Lai Mohammed, the All Progressives Congress spokesman, on Tuesday, September 8, assured Nigerians that no part of the country would be marginalised under the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Recall that a similar statement was made at the end of August by Buhari’s media aide Garba Shehu, who commenting on the so-called “lopsided” appointments made so far, said more appointments were coming, with no region to be marginalised.

In a recent interview with Daily Independent, the APC publicity secretary confirmed the position adding that John Oyegun’s statement that the party would be henceforth involved in appointments did not mean Buhari was running an autocratic government.

“I think the chairman has been a bit misunderstood or being quoted out of context. What the chairman said was that these appointments are largely personal staff. And the party cannot choose for the president his confidants or his friends. When we now say the party will get involved in choosing ministers, it is not as if the president does it alone.

“But when you want to choose ministers or assistants, you don’t call a meeting of the NWC, NEC or BOT of the party. What you do is that selectively you invite your leaders at different times and this is what the president has been doing all along.

“But if you expect that you want to sit down at the NEC meeting where there are 100 people to discuss ministerial appointment, you get nowhere.

“So, what the chairman said is that we have to give the president a lot of leeway because the people he appointed recently such as SGF, chief of staff, the liaison officers at the national assembly are people who will work on a daily basis with the president. They must be people he is familiar with.

“As the appointment goes on, it will be balanced because we are still going to make lots of them. This government is going to be a government for all Nigerians, not for the North or the East or for the South. In fullness of time, no part of Nigeria will complain of being marginalized.”

In his recent interview with BBC Hausa President Buhari wondered what was wrong about him having appointed the liable.