Lopsided appointments: ‘They’re earned’ it — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari claims that people he has selected to positions in his administration have earned their positions.

This was stated by the president during an interview with Arise TV on Thursday.

Buhari stated that he will not appoint someone to a position “simply to balance things out,” while ignoring others who have gone through the training and ranks.

“They trained in Zaria or Abeokuta, they come through the ranks and because they served under all the circumstances, the crises and everything and they gradually rise to the status,” he said.

“And you think, you will just pick somebody just to balance up. These positions have to be earned. There are people who have been there for 10 to 15 years.”

Critics of the president have recently accused him of choosing people from the country’s northern regions to key positions.

They said that the president is undermining federal character principles, particularly in the nomination of service heads.

People are not forced to join the security agencies, according to Buhari, who added that those who do must go through the procedures.

“Just because someone would say there is nobody. If you do not join, you are not forced to join. When you join, you go through the rigmarole. You go through the problem,” he added.

When asked what he is doing to ensure that the people of the south-east feel included in his administration, Buhari responded that those from the south-east are in the south-east and must go through the process.

“You better get the list of our civil servants, if you think there are no people from the south-east. There are people from the south-east,” he said.