CD to Buhari: Reverse Dankaka’s nomination as FCC chairman

Campaign for Democracy (CD) has kicked against the nomination of Dr Muheeba Farida Dankaka, from North Central, Kwara State as the chairman of Federal Character Commission (FCC), urging President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the nomination.

According to the group, the nomination is in violation of the basic principle of federal character which is the core value of the commission and philosophy upon which it was founded, even as it called on the Senate to reject the nomination to save this hallowed chamber serious embarrassment as it was high time it checked the excesses, reckless display of executive impunity in the country.

CD expressed this opposition in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and signed by its National Secretary, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, just as it condemned marginalising of people from the southern part of the country from getting to the post of executive chairman of the commission.

ALSO READ: ICPC has powers to investigate certificate forgery, Court tells Obono-Obla

The group, while expressing its opposition, stressed that all the three zones in the North had served in the Commission as substantive Executive Chairmen from the inception of the Commission, while none had been appointed from any of the Southern parts of the country.

CD described the development as disturbing, maintaining that FCC is a Federal Executive body established to implement and enforce the Federal Character Principle of fairness and equity in the distribution of public posts and socio-economic infrastructures among the various federating units of Nigeria.

“It has just come to our notice that the immediate past substantive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Prof  Abdul Raheem Oba is from Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central.  The new nominee for the same position is Dr Muheeba Farida Dankaka, also from North-central, Kwara State which is in contrast to the charter of Federal Character as stated above.

“All the three zones in the North have served in the Commission as substantive Executive Chairmen. From the inception of the Commission, there has not been any substantive Executive Chairman from any of the southern parts of Nigeria.

“Having reminisced about past chairmen as outlined below, we are constrained to issue this warning to President Buhari to reverse the nomination; and desist from his brutal exhibition of ethnic chauvinism,” the statement said.

CD, while calling on the Senate to reject President Buhari’s nominee, said Nigerians were beginning to see their leaders as “bigots, ethnic haters and promoters of racism who have serious feelings, acts of prejudice and hostility towards some ethnic group in various degrees, which is more obvious in President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration.”

“On this note, we strongly advise the Senate, to as a matter of urgent public importance reject the nomination to save this hallowed serious embarrassment as it is high time we checked the excesses, reckless display of executive impunity and the chauvinistic tendency of the extant government.

“For the reason above, we strongly advise the Nigerian Legislative organ to throw into dust bin the nomination of Dr Farida when it comes to the floor of the hallowed chamber if they still want us to believe in their integrities and make a request for another nomination from other geopolitical zones to reflect the true philosophy of federal character commission,” CD said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE