Ex-Bayelsa Gov’S Aide Tasks Buhari on Appointments

Former Special Adviser to Ex- Governor of Bayelsa State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, Chief Richard Kpodo, on Tuesday, asked the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari (retd), not to appoint politicians with questionable characters into his cabinet.

According to him, any wrong appointment made may send wrong signal about his administration.

Kpodo said, though the zero tolerance status of the President-elect is known to Nigerians, the need to tread carefully and verify the status of any proposed political appointees is important to the proper take-off of the change needed in the various sectors of the nation’s economy.

The APC chieftain, who made this call in Yenagoa, during an interactive session with the journalists, noted that the APC and the President-elect, must stand by the campaign promises made on the zero tolerance to corruption by appointing technocrats and credible politicians devoid of sentiments and corrupt past.

In his words: “The people of Bayelsa State want the President-elect to stand by his words and ensure that the battle against corruption start with the choice of persons appointed into his cabinet. We believe in him due to his records and antecedents. The support base built during the campaign was based on the promise to tackle corruption head-on. We believe he is the man for the job.

“The promise to eradicate corruption from all sectors of the economy must start with the proposed appointments to be made into his cabinet or on the transition committee. We want him to tread carefully and not appoint politicians with questionable characters into his cabinet and should not appoint those known to have cases to answer before the anti-corruption agencies.”

Kpodo stated that the President-elect should not allow himself to be hoodwinked by claims of some politicians of being a former governor and state party leaders as a yard stick for political appointments, as “most of these persons have defrauded their state chapters of the APC and failed to deliver in terms of votes. They have being involved in fund diversion and should not be appointed.”