THERE is rising disquiet in the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the list of ambassadorial nominees submitted to the national Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari for confirmation.
Several APC leaders and party stakeholders are becoming uncomfortable that they or their loyalists were left out of the ministerial appointments, now, they are left out of the ambassadorial nomination by the President.
Some APC leaders are complaining of Buhari’s skewed appointments, describing his tenure as non-inclusive government, not allowing party leaders to nominate people for appointment in the federal government.
President Buhari, last week, submitted a list of 47 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation to enable him formally appoint them to head the country’s missions in various overseas countries.
The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, read the names of the nominees on the floor of the Senate after receiving the commutation from the President.
There were indications that President Buhari showed preference for career diplomats rather than leaning on patronage to appoint politicians for the foreign assignment. Many of the ambassadorial nominees have been in the service of the country in ministry of foreign affairs over the years.
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Some of the career diplomats President Buhari is seeking the consent of the Senate for confirmation to head Nigeria’s foreign missions include; Obinna Chukwuemeka, Okeke Vivian, Ngozi Okeje, Bello Kazaure, Garba Baba, Umar Salisu, Kadiri Ayinla Audu, Ibrahim Isa, Bankole Adeoye, Ibrahim Hamza, KC Nwachukwu, Olufemi Abekoye, Adekunbi Abibat, Salisu Umoru, Liman Munir, Mohammed Hassan Hassan, Olatunde Adesesan, Usman Bakure, Balogun Akeem and Kabiru Bala.
Some APC still protest the closeness of the Buhari administration in not carrying party leaders and stakeholders along in the appointments he has made so far.
The same patter was said to be adopted in the appointment of the chief executives who include Directors General and Managing Directors of various federal parastatals recently. Some sections of the country are believed to be short out in the appointments while some sections are perceived to be getting the chunk of the appointments by the president. This was gathered to be causing discontentment in the party.
Meanwhile, Senate President Saraki, commemorating his first year in office and the one year anniversary of the Eight Senate on Thursday, June 9, 2016, had suggested to President Buhari to look beyond the APC for solutions to Nigeria’s problems.
“We are confident that one year after, the President must by now have better clarity on the capacity of his appointees. The Senate would not hesitate to hold any appointee accountable for the work he has accepted to do,” Saraki was gathered to have said.
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The Senate President added, “We would like to seek Mr. President’s support and co-operation to enable us discharge this oversight task. We have failed to take the necessary steps in policy and legislation that would set us on the path to developing the kind of economy we desire.”
Saraki maintained that, “These are serious challenges that require all hands to be on deck; there is no other time in our history than now, when the business of government needs to be conducted with great inclusiveness.”
“We must find a way to bring the best brains in our country on board wherever they may be found. Even those who did not vote for us but believe in the change that we all believe is necessary to move our country forward should be given a seat at the table. If we are able to mobilize the best human resources that God has bountifully blessed our country with, I have no doubt that with God on our side, we shall overcome,” Saraki had declared.
Apparently, President Buhari and the Senate President may be thinking in the same direction on the need to appoint professionals to manage the government for the APC rather than relying on politicians who may not have the skills of public administration.