Nepotism by this President is further dividing Nigeria, says Akintoye

A leader of the Yoruba World Congress Mr. Banji Akintoye, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of marginalising other sections of the country through appointments in his administration, saying that the trend has further divided Nigeria since he assumed office.

Akintoye, 84, a Second Republic Senator and an Emeritus Professor of History, added that the trend had become glaring, while stressing that Nigerians elected Buhari to choose qualified individuals across the country to run his government.

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Buhari who is from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won a disputed presidential election in February and was sworn-in for a second term in May.

However, he as continuously faced criticism since he assumed office in 2015 over unbalanced appointments into his administration.

Political leaders say the appointments do not reflect federal character and favours the Northern region.

However, speaking in an interview, Akintoye noted that the President’s action was a violation of the constitution and was affecting the unity of Nigeria.

According to him, “Buhari’s appointments have really gone a long way to divide the country. By concentrating most of his appointments in a section of the country he has created anger, bitterness and hatred in the mind of a lot of people outside of his region.

“He was elected to rule Nigeria, find the right individuals across the country to govern Nigeria; he was not elected to appoint people from his own part of the country alone. But by doing so he has further divided the country very badly,” Akintoye said.

Speaking on the recent comment by some individuals and groups in the North that the region was not ready to cede power to the South in 2023, Akintoye stated that he was aware of such plans, stressing that it was now obvious that the South region would have to struggle to get power back from the North in 2023.

“Yes it is true, some people in the North are bent on holding on to power in 2023, they are not saying or talking about 2023, and they are saying that power should remain in the North indefinitely.

“The South should be ready for epic struggle to get back power in 2023,” he added.