Ministerial, Board Appointments : Syndicates, lobby groups flood Abuja

Posted by admin Latest Politics, Ministries Friday, June 3rd, 2011

THESE are interesting times in Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power. Leading politicians, their godfathers or lobbyists are in a rat race to get one appointment or the other from President Goodluck Jonathan. A host of them are exploiting all avenues to claw their way into President Jonathan’s cabinet.

Indeed, Vanguard gathered that jostle for appointments has led to the emergence of syndicates and lobby groups in Abuja. Their vocation is to help appointment-desirous politicians to get federal jobs.

A similar jostle for leadership positions in the House of Representatives is playing out as a sore point in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. A host of Members-elect have vowed to move against PDP’s zoning formula, which favours the South-West that has three returning PDP Reps to produce the Speaker. Newly appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, it was learnt, has moved in to ensure stability and save PDP’s zoning formula.

This is as Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State and Igbo leaders tasked Anyim on exemplary performance as SGF and Lagos PDP appeared helpless over President Jonathan’s parley with Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and plans to form an inclusive government.

Relatedly, a group in Osun State has urged the President not to appoint those it described as “divisive elements” into his cabinet.

Meantime, invitations have been sent to ex-ministers that may go back for screening by security agencies.

Syndicates, lobby groups invade Abuja

As the Presidency continues its compilation of list of would-be ministers, heads and members of board of federal agencies and parastatals, some Nigerians who see getting the plum jobs as a matter of life and death are getting more desperate.

This has made formation of syndicate and lobby groups worthy vocations especially in Abuja.

Even when the process of nomination is not yet completed as nominees must be confirmed by the Senate, as with all things political in Nigeria, the nomination and confirmation process can be tricky, time-consuming and corruption-laden. Anything can happen at anytime to dim or enhance one’s chances, and so, many lobbyists are not leaving anything to providence.

According to one of those bidding for a board appointment, “you have to be a fool to think that your skills, strength of character, education and intelligence alone will get you anywhere in Nigeria. Perhaps, for smaller and inconsequential positions, but for ministerial, chair of a board or ambassadorial posts, you’ll need far more than the content of your curriculum vitae or resume.”

The appointment syndicates and lobby groups usually operate from corner shops and target nocturnal political meetings.

They claim to have some kind of relationship either with the president or his wife. In some cases they drop the names of powerful PDP leaders like BoT members and acting chairman and Senator Anyim among others.

Mode of operation

One outstanding feature of arrowheads of the syndicates is that they must have a title.

What matters is they must be a Dr, a Professor, an Engineer, Architect, Surveyor, Accountant, etc. Whatever professional or academic title they claim to have, they usually preface it with a chieftaincy title, i.e. Chief-Dr, or Chief-Professor.

President Goodluck Jonathan recently confirmed that there is a huge lobby for ministerial jobs.

But, according to him, 10 per cent of the lobbyists are doing it for national interest — they are people whose primary concern is to push for competent people and not just for themselves or their relatives, he said.
According to a reliable source, the interest of the syndicates and fake lobby groups is immediate gain and they don’t fail to charge their patrons large sums of money

‘Don’t pick divisive elements from Osun’

To have a good cabinet, President Jonathan has been advised to appoint professionals and people who do not have controversies surrounding them in his yet-to-be inaugurated cabinet.

The President was also asked to go for only credible and competent individuals from different parts of the country, who would be able to discharge their responsibilities effectively without personal or parochial interest.

Addressing newsmen in Osogbo yesterday, a group called Developmental Initiatives Network noted that some individuals nominated for ministerial appointments from Osun State lacked credibility. President of the group, Mr Ibiyemi Idowu, specifically advised Jonathan not to appoint controversial Osun elements capable of causing crisis for his administration if the nation was to move forward.

The group also stressed that one of the ministerial nominees from Osun State has “a haunting past that the Yoruba people and the South-West can never forget in a hurry,” adding that bringing such people into his cabinet may cast spell for his administration. “The president must not select from the group of people, who divided the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun. They are a cabal intensively hated by the people of Osun.”

President won’t give Tinubu Lagos ministerial slot
In like manner, Lagos PDP appears concerned over the President’s secret parley with Tinubu even though it cannot stop Jonathan from forming an inclusive government.

Reacting to Tinubu’s visit to the Presidency, a leader of the PDP in Lagos State, said the parley was a welcome development.

“I think it is normal, it is a good thing on the part of President Jonathan to have invited him to the parley of political leaders to share their views and opinion on national renewal. I think it is a wise decision by the President, it will help build our democracy.”

Asked if the visit would not alter the party’s ministerial slot meant for the state, the PDP stalwart said: “It is not possible. The President will not do that because of the implications it will have on the psyche of the members of the party in Lagos State.

The candidate for minister must come from Lagos State chapter of the PDP. There is nothing wrong with the President giving the ACN a ministerial slot based on the president’s conviction on the need to run an all-inclusive government. But it should not be at the expense of the PDP in Lagos, the president knows what he is doing.”

Anyim moves to save zoning, meet ACN chiefs

Meanwhile, the SGF, Senator Anyim has commenced moves to save the zoning formula of the PDP for the election of principal officers of the National Assembly from imminent collapse.

He had on Wednesday night met with the leaders of the ACN including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the lawmakers over zoning of the offices in the National Assembly.

An ACN source revealed that the SGF met with Tinubu and the lawmakers in Asokoro, Abuja ahead of Monday’s election of leaders of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

According to the source, Anyim was at the meeting to rein in his influence on the ACN lawmakers to back out of their support for Honourable Aminu Tambuwaal.

The PDP had in its formula zoned the office of the Speaker of the House of Representative to the South West with the party’s caucus picking Hon. Muriana Ajibola as the preferred candidate.

However, lawmakers elected on the platform of the ACN have continued to kick against the formula by throwing their weight behind Aminu Tambuwaal who is from the North-West zone of Nigeria.

A source who attended the Wednesday’s meeting revealed that Anyim’s plea was unanimously rejected by the party caucus on the ground that the ACN would have mortgaged its interest by supporting the zoning arrangement of the PDP.

“Anyim’s presence at our meeting showed desperation on the part of PDP but it failed because as I am talking to you, the position of our support for Tambuwaal has been solidified and there is hardly anything that can be done to change that.

The ACN is not alone in this support for Tambuwaal, the lawmakers elected on platform of Labour Party are there, Accord Party is there and so is ANPP. You will be surprised that one of the staunch lawmakers from the South-South zone who is a member of the PDP is a leading member of the Tambuwaal campaign group.”

Leaders of the ACN who attended the Wednesday’s meeting included Chief Bisi Akande, Chairman of the party, Asiwaju Tinubu, and elected Senators on the platform of the party.

Anyim was President of the Senate, whose election was based on the zoning arrangement of the PDP.

Orji, others task Anyim on exemplary performance

Given the debates that trailed his appointment as SGF, Igbo leaders including Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, have urged Anyim to discharge his duties creditably.

Orji, who spoke before Anyim was appointed, said the SGF had already been put on his toes and could not afford to fail. He gave reasons the South-East zone accepted the SGF slot.

“The SGF that is given to us, as far as I am concerned, is good for us. I like it. We have been Senate President. Have we not? When you cast your mind back, what happened? We have been Speaker of the House of Representatives, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke was Speaker.

Have we ever been SGF? Let us go to this new place and see the difference and I am telling you that the new place is going to make the difference. The SGF is a very powerful position. There are some positions that are in government if the president doesn’t know it’s the SGF that knows them.

“You can even fill the positions without the president knowing or you make serious input to the president. All the boards appointments, parastatals, chairman of this, chairman of that, secretary of this parastatal, secretary of this commission, member of this. Who does it? What else do we want? The SGF’s office is where the ecological fund is and yet we are crying here of ecological disasters.

“If the Senate President is an Igbo man and the Speaker is an Igboman and they jointly pass their budgets and the money is in the SGF’s office, if the SGF doesn’t bring it out will you work with it? You see, people don’t know all these things.

“It’s for us to tell our people that we have been Senate President, we have been Speaker and we have never been SGF. Let us try this SGF, it’s a new horizon for us. Let us try it and see the difference. When we have tasted all of them, next time we will now say this is what we want,” he said.

Our plan

On South-East agitation to produce the president in 2015, Orji said: “Our plan right now is to move the South-East to the next level. We have not started talking of 2015. Now that we have this politics of positions playing, let’s play it. After we have gotten what we want then you can start talking of 2015.

“But I have always said that the South-East should be given an opportunity to rule this country. If they say the South-East should wait, those people that are telling us to wait let them wait because we are the people that have not tasted the presidency. After Nnamdi Azikiwe who was a ceremonial president, who else? We have not and we should be given that opportunity.

“This people who have been crying of marginalisation and you say that they are not marginalised, show us that we are not marginalised by supporting us to be president. That position is not the birth right of any zone, we want it. We are interested so others should support us.”

Egolum, Iroche charge Anyim

While congratulating Anyim on his appointment, a leader of the PDP Anambra State, Chief Chuba Egolum, observed that Anyim’s appointment was “yet another master stroke from the stable of Mr. President. He has picked a man totally devoid of any baggage, be it political or otherwise. This clearly represents what I mean by having good hands amongst the ‘President’s men.’

“It is my fervent prayer that this brand new SGF will lead the pack of men and women who will join hands with Mr. President in repaying the huge debt he owes Nigerians who voted massively for him.”

Also a former PDP National Chairmanship candidate, Chief Sunny Iroche said: “Anyim Pius Anyim is a true son of Igboland in whom we are well pleased. My prayer is that God will give him the revelation, wisdom, and all that he needs to discharge the duties of that venerable office.”

-Vanguardwp_posts

Short URL: https://newnigerianpolitics.com/?p=9224

Posted by admin on Jun 3 2011. Filed under Latest Politics, Ministries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry