- About 2,000 vacant positions in 153 MDAS up for grabs
- Disaffection in APC states over nominees
BY BRIGHT JACOB
Following the appointments of ministers by President Bola Tinubu, politicians from the All Progressives Congress have embarked on intensive lobbying for appointments into the boards of federal parastatals and agencies.
The President is set to fill no fewer than 2,000 vacant positions following the recent dissolution of governing boards of over 153 agencies, parastatals, institutions, and government-owned companies.
Tinubu had on June 19, 2023, in a statement signed by the Director of Information in the office of the Secretary to the government of Federation, Willie Bassey, announced the dissolution of existing federal government boards with the exception of some selected agencies in further statements by the same medium.
The dissolved boards were among the 209 constituted by former President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2017.
The Nigeria Judicial Council, Code of Conduct Bureau; Council of State; Federal Character Commission; Federal Civil Service Commission; Independent National Electoral Commission; National Population Commission; Police Service Commission; and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission are part of the agencies excluded from the directive.
The President, it was gathered on Thursday, would fill the positions mostly with members of his party, the APC.
Though it is not clear when Tinubu plans to constitute the new boards, it is expected that the APC members would get most of the juicy appointments.
President Tinubu, at a meeting with Senators on June 7, had indicated to those who lost elections and other members of the party that they would not be left out in appointments.
He said, “The elephant is big enough for all members, and indeed Nigerians, to have a share of the renewed hope in due course.”
Party sources said on Thursday that the board appointments serve as an avenue to reward and empower party loyalists and supporters.
The Point learnt that the national leadership of the APC is compiling a list of party members to a special committee headed by the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The committee is tasked with the responsibility of finding new appointees to replace affected board members.
President Tinubu had recently constituted a special committee to work on the fresh selection and nomination modalities for the replacement of new appointees into the dissolved federal government boards.
According to a source within the Presidency, “Tinubu demands thoroughness in understanding the agencies whose establishment Act mandates federal character representation or specified educational and technical expertise.” Members of the special committee who are working alongside the Chief of Staff are; Secretary to Government of the Federation, George Akume, Special Adviser to the President on Political and Intergovernmental Affairs, Yau Darazo and some legal and private sector experts as members.
They are to study the law governing each affected Ministry, Department and Agency on the qualifications and requirements expected from persons to lead them.
Impeccable sources told The Point that party leaders and members are lobbying powerful forces in the APC at the state and national levels to be included in the list of nominees for federal boards.
The lobby for the inclusion in the list was said to be so intense that it is causing disaffection in some state chapters of the APC.
It was learnt that party chieftains have intensified efforts to ensure that they are made chairmen or members of powerful boards.
A source told The Point that some of the party members are using their contacts in APC and the presidency to influence their appointments.
Some former chieftains of the People’s Democratic Party who defected to the APC before and after the February/March general elections are also lobbying for board appointments as a reward for their contributions towards the victories of several APC candidates across the country.
Notable among the agencies where vacancies exist are the North East Development Commission with 12 vacant board slots, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission with seven board seats; Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, seven; Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, 21; Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, 12; National Universities Commission, 21 and Transmission Commission of Nigeria, 14; National Health Insurance Authority,12.
Others include the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, 7; Nigerian Meteorological Agency, seven; Nigerian College of Aviation Technology,8; Nigerian Police Trust Fund, 8; Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency,10; Federal Institute of Industrial Research, 11 and National Centre for Technology Management, 11.
Also on the list are the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, 11; Nigerian Customs Service, 11; National Pension Commission, 17; National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons, 11; National Identity Management Commission, 19; West Africa Examination Council, 8; Niger Delta Development Commission, 13; National Institute of Sports,12; Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company,12; National Bureau of Statistics,15; Federal Inland Revenue Services, 15; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, 8 and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency,7, among others.
Findings by The Point indicated that a federal board could have an average of eight members, while some agencies have as many as 14 board positions.
The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, had on August 9 inaugurated the new board and management of North East Development Commission NEDC which has a retired Major General, Paul Tarfa, as its chairman.
Other members of the board of the Commission are: Mohammad Alkali (MD); Gambo Maikomo, member (North East Taraba); Abdullahi Abbas member (North West Kano); Steven Tsav member (North Central, Benue); Mutiu Lawal-Areh, Member (South West, Lagos); Samuel Oni Ebo Member (South East, Abia); Frank Owhor, member (South South, Rivers); Musa Yashi, Executive Director Humanitarian Affairs (North East Bauchi); Ahmed Yahaya, Executive Director, Operations, (North East Gombe), and Abubakar Iliya, Executive Director Admin and Finance, (North East, Yobe).
