SOUTHERN leaders, under the auspices of Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA), on Tuesday, slammed President Muhammadu Buhari for tilting appointments in favour of the North, saying the South was not subservient to the North.
The Southern leaders, including former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark; former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme; leader of the South-West Delegation, Bishop Emmanuel Gbonigi; chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on 2014 National Conference, Senator Femi Okorounmu and a Third Republic senator, Ngoji Denton-West; arising from a meeting in Akure, Ondo State capital, said “the situation in which only the deputies are zoned to the South is not acceptable.”
The leaders, who lauded the president on his anti-graft crusade, however, urged him to be fair and non-selective in his anti-corruption war.
Speaking during the meeting, Bishop Gbonigi said “no section of the country should be marginalised in appointments and siting of development projects.
“Elections are over and President Buhari is now the president over all Nigeria and Nigerians. No section of the country should be over patronised at the expense of others.
“It is, therefore, our sincere hope that the lopsidedness in the appointment made by Mr President to date is not an indication ?of the trend of future appointments.”
The former Bishop of the Akure Diocese (Anglican Communion) urged the president to go after corrupt persons in all the political parties, irrespective of their closeness to him, pointing out that justice and rule of law must reign supreme if the fight against corruption must be won.
Bishop Gbonigi also said a “situation where the President, Senate President, Speaker and Chief Justice of Nigeria are all from the North is not acceptable.
“The South is not subservient to the North and the situation in which only the deputies are zoned to the south is not acceptable.”
SNPA Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, said “the resolve of President Buhari’s administration to wage a decisive war against corruption, which is essential to put Nigeria on the global map of business-friendly nations and earn the country prosperity, is a most welcome development.
“However, it is important to state that the dialectics of corruption, as pervasive as diverse, require a holistic fight to tame its pervading scourge. Thus, it must not be seen to be selective and limited to some perceived political enemies and foes to score cheap political points.
“For Nigeria to succeed in the war to eliminate the cancerous spread of this malaise, all those who contributed in one way or the other to ruin the prospects of a great country and have brought us to this despicable position should be made to account for their actions.
“It is only when the battle against corruption is genuinely and seriously fought without fear of favour that endearing legacies of a transformed country could be bequeathed to future generations.
“As Nigerians, we are all equal without regard to race, creed and tribe. It is, therefore, my candid appeal to President Buhari to live his priceless mantra ‘I belong to everybody, but I belong to nobody’ in the manner that the affairs of state are conducted, regardless of who gave him 95 per cent votes and five per cent votes.”
Similarly, former Vice President, Ekuweme, who spoke for the South-East through Professor Ikechukwu Madubuike, affirmed that the ongoing anti-graft war of President Buhari must be holistic and not selective.
He also called for the restructuring of the country in line with true federalism.
Former military administrator of Akwa Ibom State, Ndongesit Ekang, who spoke for the South-South, said achievements would be minimal unless appointments were balanced.
He said the fight against corruption should go round the three tiers of government, adding that politicising the fight against corruption was a disservice to the country.
In his contribution, Governor Olusegun Mimiko called for the implementation of the 2014 national conference, saying that the total restructuring of the country would lead to the emergence of “the Nigeria of our dreams."
He added that “it will be a disaster to confine the report of the conference to the dustbin of history.”
Other Southern leaders present at the meeting were Admiral Akin Aduwo, former Lagos State deputy governor, Chief (Mrs) Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele; Chief Bode Ajewole, Dr Kunle Olajide, former Minister of Transport and Aviation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; Professor Madubuike, Senator Tony Adefuye and Professor Olu Agbi, among others.
No comments:
Post a Comment