Appointments ’ll go round soon – Presidency

FROM JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, ABUJA
Following the anger that has trailed President Mu­hammadu Bu­hari’s latest appointments into key federal positions, which many believed are skewed towards the north, the presidency, has assured that the appoint­ments will spread round the country in no distance future.
Answering questions on a live radio programme
monitored in Abuja yester­day, Presidential spokes­man, Femi Adesina said though political appoint­ments are entirely the Presi­dent’s prerogative, nobody can fault the fact that those appointed so far were on merits.
He also said those blam­ing the president for posi­tions that were filled as a result of elections like those of the National Assembly and appointments based on hierarchy like those of the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Com­mission (INEC) and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, were not being fair to the President.
He assured that the Presi­dent will keep to his prom­ise of appointing the re­maining aides and ministers in September, saying “Sep­tember has 30 days and the appointments will come in any of those days before the month is over”.
Adesina said, “No body can fault the fact that the persons appointed were ap­pointed on merits. In terms of the spread, the President has the prerogative on ap­pointment and he knows there is federal character. I’m sure there will be bal­ance in the future”.
On how difficult it is to find qualified and credible persons from other parts of the country, Adesina plead­ed with Nigerians to under­stand saying “these are still early days, at the end of the day we will have a balance. Don’t let’s forget that some of the positions are by elec­tion.”
When reminded that Ni­gerians were not blaming the President for positions he cannot control but on the ones he can, the Presidential Spokesman stressed that
“By the time more ap­pointments are made, there will be balance, the presi­dent is trying to get the very best of Nigerians. The issue of key positions and no key positions should not be the issue.”
“He gave a deadline of September for the appoint­ment of ministers and he will keep to it”, he assured.