By Idris Mohammed
THE return of President Muhammadu Buhari to Nigeria after his prolonged medical sojourn in the United Kingdom (UK) was marked by wild jubilations in parts of the country, especially in Abuja and environs where he resides. The reasons for this are not far-fetched, given the rising expectations by Nigerians on the need to move the country forward after the initial inertia that characterised the early part of the administration.
It is worthy to note that in every democracy, citizens’ involvement and participation in the democratic process, such as campaigns, fund raising and the actual voting itself are informed by the desire to have something in return. While ordinary voters expect good governance and democracy dividends from their elected government, the political elites on their part expect the government to fulfil its campaign promises as contained in the political party manifestoes of the ruling party so as to provide the much-needed democracy dividends.
Given the character and content of Nigerian politics, especially the current divisiveness characterised by agitations, insurgency and increased criminality, the president should, as a matter of urgent national importance, act decisively by striking a comfortable balance between pandering to the needs of the political elites and the genuine desires of the populace who want to see a remarkable improvement in their socio-economic conditions.
It would be recalled that the initial appointments made by the Buhari administration were bogged down by cries of marginalisation and irregularities here and there. While these fears were not completely unfounded, the administration has thus far failed to do the needful by effecting the remaining appointments, which it promised would address the grievances of all parts of the country. It is instructive to note that political appointments provide incumbents the opportunity to rejig government machinery by selecting a formidable team that will drive its policies towards the actualisation of its programmes and projects.
It is in line with the above that the Northern Governors Forum had, after one of its several meetings recently, issued a communiqué in which it urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the reconstitution of boards of strategic constitutional bodies, particularly the Federal Character Commission, Federal Civil Service Commission and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to ensure justice, equity and fair play in line with the Federal Character Principle.
Perhaps, the position of the Northern Governors Forum was informed by the strategic roles played by these important constitutional bodies in the area of ensuring Federal Character in projects allocation, equal opportunity in employment, disbursement of revenues from the Federation Account amongst the three tiers of government on the basis of equity, fairness and justice which engenders mutual confidence and amity amongst the federating units. A situation in which important institutions of the state like these will be left without substantive chief executives and board members, and perpetually administered by Acting Chairmen and few members who do not constitute the constitutionally-recognised quorum, does not augur well for the fidelity of government policies, programmes and actions the outcome of which at the end of the day can become a subject of litigation. It should be noted that Acting Chairmen who stay in acting capacity beyond six months and continue to superintend such agencies without full board membership cannot legitimately and effectively discharge their constitutional mandates.
Appointments into boards of Investigating Agencies like the EFCC, CCB and the ICPC also suffer similar fate. While Ibrahim Magu’s nomination and re-nomination remains a subject of Executive/Legislative brickbat, two nominees to the Board of the ICPC were recently dropped on account of being under investigation by the same agency they were nominated for.
In another instance, Dr. Asmau Sani Maikudi, one of the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners nominated by the President from his home state was not handed her appointment letter even after being cleared and confirmed by the DSS, CCB and the Senate respectively. Why she was given the shock treatment by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation ostensibly on orders from above remains a mystery that can only be resolved by the President himself who nominated her in the first place.
In a similar development, Engr. Elias Mbam was duly reappointed by President Buhari as Chairman RMAFC for a second tenure but more than a year after the announcement of his reappointment by Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi, erstwhile Director, Press in the OSGF now a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, his name is yet to be submitted to the Senate for confirmation. Even the newly appointed Chief Executives and Board Members of CCB, PenCom and ICPC were given marching orders by the then Acting President Yemi Osibanjo to resume duties pending confirmation by the Senate which the latter described as objectionable in a Press Statement by its spokesperson, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi. This same scenario also played out at the Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission and the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, amongst others.
In the final analysis, the non-conclusion of appointments into these critical institutions could further derail the change mantra of the administration as the execution of policies, programmes and actions of the administration could be hampered by the absence of substantive Heads and Board Members.
Since the administration has no luxury of time with less than 18 months to the next elections, government should expedite action by sorting out those appointments that are still hanging and completing the process as quickly as possible.
With the President effectively back to his duty post, it is incumbent on him to resolve once and for all the many puzzles, riddles and catch 22 questions which continue to bog down his administration thereby creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and confusion. As the Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the buck stops on his table. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.
Mohammed writes from Katsina.