Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s appointments, stating they are the most balanced in Nigeria’s history.
Omokri responded to critics who claimed that Tinubu’s appointments favour his Yoruba ethnic group, describing the criticism as unfair.
He argued that those criticising the president’s appointments had failed to consider them in their entirety.
“In a statement on Sunday, Omokri dismissed the views of columnist Farooq Kperogi, who used a handful of appointments to accuse Tinubu of tribalism.
“The membership of one committee cannot establish tribalism. It is intellectually lazy and a hasty generalisation to make such a conclusion from just one alleged example, which is not even accurate,” Omokri said.
He added that critics would have a different perspective if they assessed the appointments holistically, in line with the National Order of Precedence.
Omokri emphasised that Tinubu had ensured that key government positions across the executive, legislature, and judiciary were distributed across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.Nigerian cultural tours
“When you take appointments made by the president and weigh them according to their ranking on the National Order of Precedence, it becomes clear that President Tinubu is perhaps one of Nigeria’s most accommodating leaders,” he said.
He compared Tinubu’s approach with that of his predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari, who had appointed Northerners to key positions.
Omokri pointed out that Tinubu had appointed Senator George Akume, a Northerner, as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, replacing Babachir Lawal and Boss Mustapha, who were also Northerners under Buhari.
He also referenced the appointment of Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack from the South-South region as the Head of the Civil Service, comparing it with Buhari’s appointment of Mrs. Folasade Yemi-Esan from the North-Central region.
Omokri further praised Tinubu for ensuring balance in the appointments of security heads and defence forces.
He listed several prominent appointments, including Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser from the Northeast and Olufemi Olatubosun from the Southwest as Chief of Army Staff.
Omokri noted that the dominance of appointments from the Northwest and Southwest was due to their population sizes.
“The Northwest has dominated President Tinubu’s appointments precisely because it is Nigeria’s most populous geopolitical zone,” he explained.
He added that the Northwest constitutes 27% of Nigeria’s population, while the Southwest represents 20%, and that the Southwest is the most educated region, which justifies their prominence in government appointments.
