The Presidency has issued an apology for inaccuracies found in the recently released list of federal appointments, which was intended to address allegations of bias in President Bola Tinubu’s selection process.
Criticism has mounted regarding Tinubu’s appointment decisions, with opposition figures particularly voicing concerns about a perceived preference for individuals from his ethnic group over candidates from other regions.
In a recent interview with Arise Television, Senator Ali Ndume, an APC lawmaker representing Borno South, accused the President of violating the federal character principle through disproportionately skewed appointments. Ndume stated that, despite being a member of the ruling party, he felt it was his legislative duty to speak out on the matter.
In response to these allegations, the Presidency released a breakdown of Tinubu’s appointments by geo-political zones. The document revealed that 29 appointments were made from the South West, 35 from the North West, 22 from the South-South, 16 from the South East, 25 from North Central, and 24 from the North East.
However, the list faced further backlash for excluding significant figures like Femi Gbajabiamila, the President’s Chief of Staff, whose inclusion would have increased the South West tally. This oversight reignited concerns regarding regional imbalance.
As the controversy gained traction on social media, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser on Media & Public Communication and Spokesperson to the President, issued an apology via X on Thursday morning.
“We have noticed a number of errors in the list of appointments tweeted. We are sorry. We will provide an updated list later. Thank you,” Dare wrote.
The provision on the federal character consideration in public and professional office appointments has long been buried, apologies or no apologies. It has been continuously violated by the succeeding regimes unabated no matter how loudly you speak about it.