Cleric Cautions Buhari Against Lopsided Appointments

As Nigerians await announcement of more appointments by the Federal Government, an Anglican Bishop, Rt. Rev. Innocent Ordu has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to avoid lopsidedness in the composition of his cabinet.

President Buhari

Ordu, who is the Bishop of the Diocese of Evo, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), gave the advice on Saturday in Port Harcourt while delivering his Presidential Address/Bishop’s Charge at the Third Session of the Second Synod of the diocese.

Speaking on the theme, “Recapturing the spirit of excellence and integrity in service: The Daniel example”, the cleric urged the president to respect the principle of Federal Character in choosing persons to serve with him.

He said, “Ethnic, regional or religious biases must be avoided. Merit, competence and even-spread of positions should be considered first and foremost.

“Every Nigerian and groups of Nigerians are constitutionally at liberty to vote for any person or political party of their choice, even if that person or party ends up losing at the polls.

“That preference by an individual, ethnic groups or geopolitical zone should not make them suffer marginalisation in the distribution of political offices and other dividends of democracy to the various sections of the country”.

Ordu, who declared that Nigeria belonged to all, also made a case for the people of the South-East and South-South zones, saying they did not commit any sin against the Nigerian State by their voting pattern in the 2015 general election.

The Bishop said, “They must not be made to stand by and helplessly watch the other parts of the country scramble for key positions in the country just because they voted differently. Once again, we say Nigeria belongs to all of us and so key offices in the land must be equitably distributed.”

The cleric also described as embarrassing and deplorable the leadership crisis that engulfed the National Assembly.

> He said the federal lawmakers were ” shamefully soaked in the battle for who occupies what office in the National Assembly” at a time when they should settling down to the serious business of law making and oversight functions.

Ordu blamed the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the situation, saying it was borne out of desperation to share the spoils of election victory.

The Bishop said, “They appear visibly to undermine the independence of the second arm of government by insisting that certain key offices be occupied by some already anointed members of both Houses.This, in our opinion, is totally wrong and will not make for the healthy growth of our young democratic process.”

Ordu affirmed that the National Assembly had come of age and called on President Buhari and the APC leadership to allow the wishes of the federal lawmakers to stand without any further interference.

Cleric Cautions Buhari Against Lopsided Appointments