3 reasons I rejected Buhari’s ambassadorial nomination —Tallen

FORMER deputy governor of Plateau State and ambassador-nominee, Mrs Pauline Tallen, on Monday, explained her reasons for turning down her ambassadorial nomination.

Tallen, according to TheCable, said “proper consultation was not done” before her nomination was announced.

In a statement by her media aide, she also rejected the offer in order to be fair to other parts of the state in terms of federal appointments.

Tallen, a former minister of science and technology and Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Plateau in 2011, said this in Abuja.

“I hail from the same local government and tribe with Governor Simon Lalong. I turned down the nomination because of balancing of appointments; I don’t think it is right for me to accept the appointment,” she said.

“Secondly, proper consultation was not done. My governor was not consulted because I called him when he was in United States of America to ask, but he said that he was not aware.

“For me, I was consulted and I turned down the appointment even before the announcement was made. My husband’s ill-health is another reason I will not accept the appointment,” she said.

Tallen said President Muhammadu Buhari gave her another option and also assured her that Plateau would not miss its two slots.

The former deputy governor, who appreciated Buhari for the honour, said her name was not included in the list of nominees and was surprised when the announcement was made.

Meanwhile, Lalong has described Tallen’s decline as an exhibition of political maturity.

The governor, speaking with State House correspondents on Monday, explained that he had already approached President Buhari, saying Tallen turned down the appointment to allow fairness in the state in terms representation at the federal level.

Lalong admitted that he was not consulted before her name was announced in the ambassadorial list, saying her nomination generated uproar because the appointments were not equitably distributed.

He said it was also a demonstration that “Tallen is a matured politician to have stepped down and sacrifice that for the people of Plateau.”

The governor, therefore, said the state was still working on a replacement.