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The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that all regions, faiths and sections benefit from political appointments made by his government while no ethnic group or faith is seen to be favoured above others.
Executive Director of MURIC, Prof Isiaq Akintola, made the plea in a statement on Monday.
The statement said the appointments made so far by President Tinubu are lopsided because they favour mainly Yorubas and Christians.
It advised the president to ensure balance in coming appointments.
We are shocked to our marrows that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been appointing Christians and Yorubas mainly to key positions since the inception of this administration at the expense of Muslims. For instance, five out of eight security chiefs appointed earlier are Christians. Ministerial posts have not been different.
“All five key appointments made by President Tinubu to revive the economy were given to Christians and Yorubas mainly. These new appointees include the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the newly nominated CBN Governor, Dr Michael Cardoso, Hon. Zacch Adedeji, Acting Chairman, FIRS, the Chairman, Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele and Mr. Tope Fasua, Special Adviser on Economic Affairs.
“Many competent Muslims who campaigned and voted for Muslim-Muslim ticket during the presidential election were ignored. It is interesting to note that some of those Muslims are eminently qualified to hold key political offices since there are professors, engineers, medical doctors and holders of doctorate degrees among them,” it said.
Apparently referring to former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Akintola said that to add salt to injury, one of the best Muslim ministerial nominees, the man who championed the Muslim-Muslim ticket and mobilised the whole North behind Asiwaju has been jettisoned.
MURIC rejects this trending narrative that makes competence the raison d’etre for concentrating appointments in any particular tribe, religion or group. The government’s tentacles should be spread nationwide in the search for competence. Neither should the need for skills be used as a cover for the marginalisation of some sections of Nigeria.”
The MURIC boss said competence is not the monopoly of any tribe, faith or group as talented Nigerians are to be found everywhere if sincere searches are conducted.
“Besides, the government should take the lion’s share of the blame if competent hands cannot be found in any section, creed or group for certain assignments. It means the government has not, ab initio, allowed educational and training facilities to be fairly and evenly distributed, or that government has failed to consciously integrate all segments of Nigerian society.
“This regime must be wary of allegations of nepotism which the previous regime was accused of. Nigeria is a vast country with talented men and women in all nooks and crannies. The government must not just pick the low-hanging skills or those on the water surface. It must send its underwater swimmers to dive below the surface in order to bring the gems to dry land.
“Our message to President Tinubu is this (and we want the president’s handlers to take this to him) the cacophony of voices of dissatisfied Muslims has reached an unbearable crescendo such that MURIC is now constrained to speak up. People are complaining, particularly Muslims from the North and South West and they can only be ignored at the risk of foregoing 2027.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our Muslim brother but that should not stop us from criticising him if he does the wrong thing. The Prophet (SAW) said, “Help your brother when he is wronged and even when he is wrong…”
