Buhari suffers declining goodwill

· APC government becoming unpopular
· As citizens reject federal appointments
The rising number of citizens rejecting political appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari is beginning to send wrong signals to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which is controlling the federal government.
It is curious that virtually all those who rejected the diverse federal appointments did so on flimsy excuses and with confidence.
National Daily inquiry revealed that the trend is bizarre because many people spend fortunes of their earnings to lobby for these appointments being rejected by these seeming noble citizens.
National Daily inquiry further revealed that the reasons given by some of the citizens are too superficial to turn down an offer for national assignments on flimsy excuse of not being consulted, indicating that a new political value system is on the rise in the polity.
Some stakeholders who spoke to National Daily on the condition of anonymity, were of the view that the rejection of the appointments is a clear signal that President Buhari is fast losing the populist goodwill which brought him to power in 2015. They maintained that the prevailing socio-economic indices in the country have discouraged several citizens from upholding further legitimacy of the APC-Government which promised a change that has resulted into unprecedented hardship on Nigerians.
They maintained that the signs that the APC is rapidly becoming unpopular among non-state actors in the country are glaring manifesting. They admonished the APC government and President Buhari to work hard to redeem the image of the party-government and the President’s leadership.
They cautioned further that the trend shows a growing loss of confidence on the current government.
Record shows that four persons, so far, have rejected appointment by President Buhari. Beside the expression of disappointment by APC governors and leaders, over the non-consultative attitude of the President on nominations from their states, some of the nominees also said they were unaware of the appointments, thsu, rejecting the offer.
Najatu Muhammad:
The federal government on Saturday, February 13, 2015, appointed Muhammad as Chairperson of the Governing Board of the Dutse Federal University, through a paid advertorial in the media. He rejected the offer; saying: “Sir, I Najatu Muhammad, wishes (wish) to thank you so much for considering me worthy of being appointed the chairperson of Dutse Federal University. It’s, however, unfortunate that I was not consulted before the announcement in the media. I also regret that I have to use the same medium to announce that I can’t accept the appointment for personal reasons.”
Usman Bugaje:
Usman Bugaje, the man who led the nPDP to the APC, rejected President Buhari’s ambassadorial nomination. He, however, insisted not to reveal his reason to the media.
He said: “Regarding the published nomination for an ambassadorial posting, I have not spoken to the press and may not do so anytime soon.
“I thank those who think me fit for the job, but I have so much in my hands already, especially, the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), which is the only broad platform in the North driving development. I have weighed the options and have decided to remain home and continue the struggle for development and good governance. Thank you for the concern,” he said.
Dame Pauline Tallen:
A former Deputy Governor of Plateau State, a member of the APC board of trustees, rejected her ambassadorial nomination by President Buhari. She simply gave her husband’s poor health condition as reasons for her decision. However, Plateau State Governor had protested her nomination, arguing that they are both from the same political entity in the state and should not take all the political appointments from the state.
Professor Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande:
A Nigerian American Engineering Professor at the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, rejected an offer by President Buhari to be appointed Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Akinwande was said to have turned down the offer on reason that he was not consulted before the nomination was made.