By YUSUF MOHAMMED
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said that merit and national spread will be considered in making political appointments in his second term.
The President also assured that every part of the country will have a sense of belonging in his second term which begins on May 29 this year.
Buhari’s remark is as a result of the visit by leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, who advised President Buhari to ensure that there is ethnic and religious balancing in his appointments. According to CAN, there is no party and religious group in Nigeria without qualified men and women. CAN also told the President to adhere strictly to the doctrine of separation of powers as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution and also double the efforts in ensuring that the only Christian school girl, Leah Sharibu who is still in captivity of the Islamic Boko Haram group for not denouncing her Christian faith is set free.
Buhari assured the Christian leaders that he was committed to leave Nigeria better than he met it in 2015. According to him, “We will continue to strive for peaceful co-existence among all Nigerians irrespective of their religious beliefs. “In the area of allocation of political offices, our focus will be on merit and national spread such that every part of Nigeria will have a sense of belonging. “We remain resolute in the fight against terrorism and insurgency, and efforts to bring back all those in captivity and other victims of kidnappings will be intensified,” the President said.
Prior to the meeting with CAN, Well meaning Nigerians have been crying out about the lopsided political appointments by the Buhari administration.
They say President Buhari has abandoned the zoning principle which is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution in order to give a sense of belonging to every Nigerian due to the complexity of the country.