Obi accuses Tinubu of attempting to lure opposition Govs to APC
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) has carpeted President Bola Tinubu for allegedly bribing opposition Governors in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and LP by offering them slots to fill on the boards of federal parastatals.
Kwara Governor and Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq disclosed after a meeting of the forum in Abuja on Tuesday that Tinubu asked Governors to nominate competent people to serve on the boards.
Tinubu announced in June the dissolution of the governing boards of more than 153 agencies, parastatals, institutions, and government-owned companies that were among the 209 constituted by former President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2017.
Up to 2,000 vacant positions on the boards are expected to be filled by new nominees.
A communiqué issued by the NGF quoted Abdulrazaq as saying members of the forum commended Tinubu for asking Governors to nominate board members across party lines.
But Obi through his spokesmen dismissed the board slots as a “gimmick” to lure opposition governments and chieftains into the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The subtle move “will not change the fact that Tinubu’s presidency is an illegitimate government,’’ Obi-Datti Campaign spokesman Yunusa Tanko scoffed.
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APC trying to legitimise an illegitimate govt
“APC is doing everything in their crooked book to ensure they legitimise this government, which we have resisted vehemently. We will only do what is rightfully ours when the court makes its decision and pronouncement,” Tanko added, per reporting by The PUNCH.
“But as far as we are concerned, every attempt we see them do is a means to cajole people to believe and legitimise their government. That is the truth about it.’’
Tanko wondered why the APC would want to appease the sole LP Governor with board offers when the APC has hundreds of supporters in Abia who could be given board appointments.
“Sending letters to state Governors is part of the process of legitimising their governance, which we are resisting. At the moment, LP has only one Governor. The belief is that the Governor may likely dance to their tune.
“But the truth about it is that will the APC tell you they don’t have party people in Abia State that they can nominate? Why must they go through the Governor to do so?
“What they are aiming to do is to indirectly co-opt him into their party. That’s the truth.”
Obi added through his Media Aide Tai Obasi that even though what Tinubu is attempting to do appears positive, it is not enough to legitimise his government.
“It is obviously a gimmick. Of course, you know the man [Tinubu] and the problem he is facing in court. It is easy for one to see what he is trying to do even though it looks positive though.
“But again, the opposition are not fools. As we are concerned, we still see his government as an interim one,” Obasi said.
The establishments whose boards are to be filled include
- North-East Development Commission (12 vacant board slots)
- Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (7)
- Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (7)
- Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (21)
- Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (12)
- National Universities Commission (21)
- Transmission Commission of Nigeria (14)
- National Health Insurance Authority (12)
- Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (7)
- Nigerian Meteorological Agency (7)
- Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (8)
- Nigerian Police Trust Fund (8)
- Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (10)
- Federal Institute of Industrial Research (11)
- National Centre for Technology Management (11)
- 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)
- Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (7)