A human rights activist and senior lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, has derided President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of late Ebonyi lawmaker, Tobias Chukwuemeka Okwuru, into the Federal Character Commission (FCC).
FCC was established to enforce the Federal Character Principle of fairness and equity in the distribution of public posts and socio-economic infrastructures among the various federating units of the country.
POLITICS NIGERIA reported how Mr Buhari named late Okwuru among thirty-eight board members of the commission on Wednesday. The appointment was subjected to the ratification of the Senate.
Although, neither the Presidency or Senate has clarified on the appointment of the deceased, the Ebonyi state government confirmed the information. The spokesperson of the two offices neither picked telephone calls put across by our reporter nor responded to the text messages forwarded.
It was gathered that the lawmaker, who represented Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency in the 7th House of Representatives between 2011 and 2015, died in February 2020.
Reacting to this, Mr Ozekhome stated that he was not surprised about the appointment owing to the previous records of President Buhari.
“I’m surprised that Nigerians are surprised. This has happened two years ago when more than 15 dead persons were appointed into boards of different federal government agencies,” He told this paper in a telephone interview.
The activist noted that appointing the dead into offices meant to be occupied by the living shows how clueless the administration is.
Emphasising on the essence of the commission, Mr Ozekhome said: “The Federal Character Commission is one of the most important agencies which see to the equitable distribution of our natural resources, economic resources, political resources and cultural resources. It is so important as it is supposed to foster unity and oneness among Nigerians irrespective of the ethnic backgrounds.”
According to him, if the commission functions as expected, there will be equitable distribution of all resources in the country as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
” … there won’t be secessionist appointments and nepotistic appointments like we have today. When a particular part of the country and religious group take it all. I mean the northern part of the country and the Muslims.”
In his review of the administration, Mr Ozekhome explained that President Buhari’s administration is not only retrogressing but also making things worse for the citizens.
“That is why we have become the capital of poverty in the world, overtaking India. (We are) 146th out of the most corrupt countries in the world. The second most corrupt country in West Africa. We are facing security challenges in terms of the Boko haram terrorist organisation, which is the third most deadly terrorist group in the world,” the senior lawyer lamented.
What a disgrace