Buhari should avoid Obasanjo’s mistakes – Ango
Don’t betray Nigerians, Labour tells Buhari
pokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Professor Ango Abdullahi, yesterday advised political associates of the presidentelect, General Muhammadu Buhari, to give him a free hand in selecting his cabinet.
Ango, who gave the advice during an interview with pressmen in Zaria, noted that there are good and competent people in the country that Buhari can appoint as ministers and aides.
He said: “When you take him (Buhari) aside, he should scout for competent leaders. I would like to The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigerian (ASCSN) has urged the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, to strive to provide good governance, who voted him into power.
In a congratulatory statement issued in Lagos yesterday and signed by its national president, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama and the Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, the union stated that emphasise this; he should avoid the mistake that Obasanjo was forced to make. At the beginning of Obasanjo’s administration, we are aware, that he could not search for his ministers. The ministers had to be nominated by governors of his party. This was the first problem that Obasanjo administration faced in terms of loyalty of ministers who were nominated by their governors. So, it became difficult for Obasanjo to even reshuffle his cabinet. Buhari should completely avoid this. He should be able to scout for good people who are available in all parts of the country.”
Professor Ango described the 2015 election as better than that the pan-Nigeria mandate given to Buhari is a trust he should not betray.
The ASCSN expressed optimism among Nigerians that General Buhari would bring fresh perspective to bear on governance as is the case in civilized countries of the world.
“There is no doubting the fact that the challenges that lay ahead are enormous. We nonetheless believe that with hard-work, perseverance, and selfless service to our fatherland, you will overcome and move the country to the next of 2011 in terms of organization and integrity.
“Those responsible for its organization decided that they should give it integrity. I am one of those who felt that the 2011 election lacked the integrity that we saw in the 2015 election. 2011 elections were highly compromised, particularly in the South-South and SouthEast to serve the interest of Jonathan at the time. We saw votes cast exceeded the number of registered voters. One of the innovations that I would like to praise is the Card Reader, because it made considerable difference in ensuring that voters were identified and that their votes level. Your excellency, as you are no doubt aware, the world has changed since you left the saddle as a military Head of State about 30 years ago. Today, Nigerians yearn for good governance, freedom of conscience, and freedom of expression so that they can participate actively on how they are governed as free citizens entitled to fundamental human rights in a democratic society,” the union said.
It stressed that the world is watching the president-elect to see how he would fare in his second counted. This was why the party that was heading for defeat saw clearly that the introduction of permanent voter’s cards and the reader would be bad for it. That was why they manoeuvred and pressurized INEC to postpone the elections,” Professor Ango said.
He added: “This country has built a lot of problems in the last 16 years, and he (Buhari) has itemised the challenges in his speech.
Buhari’s immediate challenge is to secure peace in the minds of
Nigerians. Everything should be done to overcome the insurgency in the country, and the most important is to show leadership by example particularly in tackling corruption.” coming as Nigerian leader.
“Consequently, we solicit that your administration should hit the ground running and live up to expectations of many Nigerians who crave for change by healing the wounds and bitterness occasioned by the electioneering campaigns and lift Nigeria to greater heights by addressing the myriads of problems facing the country including economic problems, infrastructural decay, energy crisis, joblessness and on top of it all corruption,” the union added.