Fred Itua, Abuja
On Tuesday, April 28, President Muhammadu Buhari forwarded names of the Chairman and members of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) to the Senate for confirmation. The President’s letter came weeks after the Senate raised the alarm over the refusal of the President to appoint a substantive Chairman and members of the Commission.
According to a letter read by the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan on the floor of the upper legislative chamber, the nominees appointed by the President to serve at the FCC include Muheeba Dankaka, Chairman; Henry Ogbulogo, Abia; Salihu Bello, Adamawa; Obonganwan Deborah Daniel, Akwa-Ibom; Ibeabuchi Uche, Anambra; Mohammed Tijjani, Bauchi; Tonye Okio, Bayelsa; Silas Mfa Macikpah, Benue; Abba Ali Monguno, Borno; Nsor Atamgba, Cross River; and Alims Agoda,.
Others are Tobias Chukuemeka, Ebonyi; Imuetinyan Festus, Edo; Sesan Fatoba; Ginika Florence, Enugu; Hamza Mohammed, Gombe; Diogu Uche, Imo; Lawan Ya’u Roni, Jigawa; Hadiza Usman Muazu, Kaduna; Mohammed Awwal Na’iya, Kano; Lawal Garba, Katsina; Abubakar Atiku Bunu, Kebbi; Idris Eneye Bello, Kogi; Daniel James Kolo, Kwara; Are Miftah Bolaji, Lagos; Nasir Isa Kwarra, Nasarawa; and Suleiman Barau, Niger.
Also appointed are Abiodun Isiaq Akinlade, Ogun; Olufemi Omosanya, Ondo; Adeoye Abdularazaq Olalekan, Osun; Adeniyi Olowofela, Oyo; Stephen Jings, Plateau; Wokocha Augustine, Rivers; Abdullahi Taminu Tafida, Sokoto; Alhaji Armaya’u Dauda Abubakar, Taraba; Jibril Maigari, Yobe; Sani Garba, Zamfara; and Adamu Mohammed Sidi-Ali, Federal Capital Territory.
However, some argue that the action of the president has reignited old wounds about his alleged preference for people from a section of the country, in complete flagrance of the principles of Federal Character, which stipulates that every section of the country must be carried along.
The appointment has also opened a discussion about previous appointments into sensitive agencies and organs of government made by the President. Pundits who are worried, have listed aviation, finance, maritime, security, oil and gas, and agriculture, as major organs of government that have been subtly handed over to people from a section of the country.
For them, the Senate must show leadership and reject the nominee for the position of the Chairman. They said the immediate past substantive Chairman was Professor Abdulraheem Oba whose tenure was between 2007 to 2015.
In his first tenure, Professor Oba left the Commission to contest for the governorship election and returned after he lost the election. He was allowed to continue as Chairman. “This is apparently against all sense of fair play,” one of the pundits said.
According to findings by Daily Sun, the new nominee for appointment as Executive Chairman, Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka, is also from North central, Kwara State. For pundits, this violates the principle of Federal Character.
So far, all the three zones in the North have served in the Commission as substantive Executive Chairmen from inception.
A worried observer, Fidelis Ndam, said: “So even if we are to assume Dr. Muheeda is using either her own or her husband’s State of origin, it still violates the principle of fairness. Unless of course, Dr. Muheeda Fareeda Dankaka or her husband is from any states of the South. This definitely is not the case.
“There hasn’t been any substantive Executive Chairman from any of the Southern geopolitical zones. These people I’m about to mention served as chairmen. They’re Adamu Fika, Yobe State (North East); Bello Kafabai Katsina State (North West); Prof. Oba AbdulRaheem, Kwara State (North Central).
What about Acting Chairmen of the Commission? Apart from Abayomi Sheba who’s from Ondo State (South West Zone), all other Acting Chairmen of the Commission namely Muhammadu Ari-Gwaska (North Central); Ibrahim Funtua – from Katsina State (North West Zone); Muhammad Bello Alkali from Kebbi State (North West Zone); Dr. Shettima Bukar Abba from Borno State (North East Zone) and Ambassador Shinkafi from Zamfara State (North West), current Acting Chairman, whose tenure ended on Monday, 20th April, 2020 after two terms in office, are all from the Northern part of Nigeria.”
A former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, who has joined others in condemning the development, has urged the Senate to reject the abuse of the principles of Federal Character.
He said: “The Federal Character Commission by the nomination of the new Chairman would have a Chairman from North (Kwara) and Secretary from the North(Taraba) in violation of Section 4 of the subsidiary legislation.
“This has always been the tradition that Chairman and Secretary are from the North and South respectively. For some reason, past governments including Obasanjo and Jonathan had appointed Northerners as Chairmen and Southerners as Secretaries.
“When Mr. President appointed Mohammed Bello Tukur, the Legal Adviser of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) as the Secretary of the Federal Character Commission, many thought it was to pave way for the first Southern Chairman of the Commission. That was not to be.
“Chapter 2 of the constitution aptly named Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy provides in S.13 that it shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government, and of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers, to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of this Chapter of this Constitution.
“The same Chapter 2 of the constitution S.14(3) expressly mandates that “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies. The Senate should emphasise the supremacy of our constitution and the need to build an inclusive state. The Corona virus should be a wake up call.”
Similarly, Campaign for Democracy is also opposing the alleged abuse of Federal Character principles. Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, National General Secretary of the civil rights group, in his reaction, pleaded with the Senate to reject the decision of President Buhari.
Odili said: “Democracy is viewed as government in which the supreme power is held by the people and used by them directly or indirectly through representation. We therefore describe the nomination of Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka from North central, Kwara State as violation of basic principle of Federal Character, the core value of the Commission and philosophy upon which it was founded.
“The Federal Character Commission (FCC) is a Federal Executive body established to implement and 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 Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is therefore disturbing that since its inception, the Federal Character Commission has fallen short of the above standard, and consequently rubbishing the whole concept of the commission and democracy as an institution.
“Members of the National Assembly are not doing enough, they seem to be people of little or no basic knowledge of democratic ethos which is equity, fairness and justice. The rubrics and ethos of democracy the world over is equitable distribution of commonwealth and equal distribution of positions, but when all these are lacking, democracy becomes tasteless and meaningless. It is also no longer government of general participation but oppressive and government of exclusion.
“It has just come to our notice that the immediate past substantive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Professor Abdul Raheem Oba is from Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central. The new nominee for the same position is Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka, also from North central, Kwara State.
“All the three zones in the North have served in the Commission as substantive Executive Chairmen. From inception of the Commission, there has not been any substantive Executive Chairman from any of the Southern parts of Nigeria. We strongly advise the Nigerian Legislative organ to throw into dust bin the nomination of Dr. Fareeda when it comes to the floor of the hallowed chambers if they still want to have us believe in their integrities.”
Since it’s inauguration 11 months ago, Lawan-led Senate has only rejected one nominee of President Buhari whereas, almost 100 others have been screened and confirmed. It is therefore unclear if the Senate will cave in to public outcry and reject the nominee or succumb to the wishes of President Buhari and confirm him.