Rights group to Presidency: Stop living in denial; immediately redress lopsided appointments
Posted by News Express | 3 August 2016 | 2,544 times
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked the Presidency to redress immediately, what it views as “the unambiguous imbalances in strategic appointments and stop the semantic gymnastics.”
HURIWA also advised the Presidency to “stop denying the obvious with regards to the skewed and lopsided top government appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari but should take steps to comply with constitutional provisions on Federal Character Principles.”
Besides, the rights group has also asked the Federal Government to go after state officials who are diverting relief materials meant for the thousands of now malnourished internally displaced Nigerians in the terrorism afflicted North East region rather than engage in frivolous verbal exchange with the London-based Telegraph newspapers.
HURIWA said it is a fact that some of the administrative actions of the government regarding appointments in places such as Internal Affairs and Armed Forces are skewed and tilted to favor only the Hausa/Fulani Muslims, which in itself is promoting widespread sectarian killings of Christian Preachers because the hoodlums know that their people control the National Defence Council.
The rights group in a statement jointly authorized by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of media Miss Zainab Yusuf, also asked the presidency to recall that during the just ended public holiday to mark the end of Islamic Fasting period that the Minister of Interior Retired General Abdurahman Danbazau stated that he was directed by the Sultan of Sokoto to unilaterally extend the holiday period because the moon couldn’t be sited.
HURIWA recalled that this unconstitutional extension occurred even whilst government had already declared two days holiday thereby disturbing the economy and making Nigeria to appear like an Islamic Country even when Section 10 of the Nigerian Constitution is explicitly against such extra-legal action.
Specifically Section 10 states thus; “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.”
HURIWA said the London Telegraph was right to argue that these skewed appointments of the Presidency have caused ethnic tensions just as the group stated that these administrative and deliberate errors of judgments on the side of the Presidency is creating divisions amongst the various segments of the society.
The rights group said most appointments made so far by Buhari are in breach of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which affirms thus; “The composition of the Government of the Federal 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 rights group said the move through unconstitutional means and contrived subterfuge to unseat the only Igbo man holding graded constitutional political office - the Deputy Senate President based on primordial sentiments is tantamount to justifying the claims made by the UK based paper since it would seem that Mr. President couldn't stomach the fact that the National Assembly democratically elected their leaders.
The group challenged government to dispute that the Hausa/Fulani component of the North has not got more than its fair share of top level appointments even as it stated the information on the imbalances are on the World Wide Web and it's therefore foolhardy to dispute these glaring facts.
HURIWA recalls that, the Presidency has vehemently refuted reports by London Telegraph that children were faced with death by starvation in northern Nigeria, saying such reports were injurious to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
•Photo shows President Buhari.
Source: News Express
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