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Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office in October 2023, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has expressed serious concerns about what it believes to be an unfair pattern of federal appointments.

According to the NEF, the Southwest area gains disproportionately from these appointments, while Nigeria’s other five geopolitical zones are left out.

NEF’s spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, released a statement in which the forum charged the administration with violating the Nigerian Constitution and threatening national unity.

The Constitution’s Chapter 2, Section 14(3) states that the government’s and its agencies’ makeup must represent Nigeria’s federal nature in order to foster national cohesion and guarantee that no region controls the federal government.

The NEF statement emphasized the importance of the federal character principle in allocating bureaucratic positions nationwide, allocating resources, and making political appointments.

The National Census Committee’s recent makeup, which they contend is significantly biased in favor of the Southwest and excludes other regions, is one area of particular difficulty for the NEF.

The forum denounced this exclusionary strategy as a violation of democratic values such as justice, fairness, inclusivity, and balanced representation.

The NEF underlined that in order to maintain public confidence and the accuracy of the results, the sensitive and important national census must be conducted inclusively throughout all regions.

Any effort to exclude particular areas could undermine the legitimacy of the census, which would have long-term detrimental effects on national unity.

“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 to promote national unity, 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.”

In light of this, the NEF has demanded that the National Census Committee be immediately reconstituted in a way that upholds the federal character concept and fairly represents each of the six geographic zones.

“Consequently, NEF demands the following: The immediate reconstitution of the National Census Committee to ensure equal representation of all six geopolitical zones in line with the federal character principle.

“A holistic review and equitable redistribution of all federal appointments in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to reflect true national diversity and constitutional compliance.

In order to ensure adherence to the constitutional requirement for diversity, they are also calling for a comprehensive examination of all federal appointments made inside Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

The forum firmly warned that any further disregard for equity justice, and inclusivity could jeopardize Nigeria’s unity, exacerbate regional conflicts and plant the seeds of instability.

To maintain the nation’s unity amid its rich diversity, the statement urged leadership that places a high priority on justice and upholds the rule of law.

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