A group, the Northern Progressives Union, has called on President Bola Tinubu not to consider appointing former governors from the North, warning that they won’t bring any meaningful development to his government.
The appeal, which was made in a statement issued on Monday by NPU Coordinator Mohammed Kiyawa, comes in the wake of growing anxiety over the continued delay of the president’s list of ministerial nominees.
But Kiyawa appealed to Tinubu to resist the temptation of appointing any of the immediate-past state governors from the North as ministers or cabinet members.
According to him, some of the governors betrayed the trust of the party and allegedly worked in favour of the opposition in the last presidential election.
“We are foot soldiers of the APC in this part of the country and are therefore making a categorical statement urging Mr. President and the APC as a political party not to entertain the idea of nominating any of the former governors from the region in the incoming cabinet. They do not have the required capacities and capabilities to drive the process.
“Our demand is legitimate and is consequent upon the misdeeds that some of them committed during the 2023 general elections; they were mostly moles and fifth columnists used by the opposition parties, and in most cases, funds given to them for elections were personalised and kept for self-serving purposes,” the statement partly read.
Continuing, the group noted that if the president is serious about letting the poor breathe and meeting the expectations of Nigerians through his ‘Renewed Hope’ action plan, he should steer clear of self-serving former state governors who will ultimately not bring anything to the table.
The NPU coordinator also noted that she described them as ‘spent forces and failed politicians who can’t fit into the reality of the president’s visionary plan for the country.
“While President Tinubu was mobilising at all levels, the former governor seeking ministerial nomination could not deliver votes from his area.
“Jigawa, Yobe, and Zamfara states can be adjudged among the least politically astute states in Northern Nigeria; hence, they are more likely to move in line with the body language of their key leaders that they identify with and not necessarily any other factor.
“In the Jigawa State 2023 presidential election, the Hadeijia Emirate, consisting of Birniwa, Kirikasamma, Guri, Hadejia, Malam Madori, Kaugama, Auyo, and Kafin Hausa local governments, massively voted for APC owing to the fact that one of them was made an APC governorship candidate for the first time. The votes garnered were not necessarily due to any funds disbursed by the former governor.
“In the first place, the governor never disbursed any money, and the truth is that the People’s Democratic Party outspent APC. This is the reason the PDP gathered considerable votes.
“Otherwise, it should have been a landslide for APC because of the zoning arrangement in favour of the governorship candidate of our great party,” as stated.
“APC did very well in the Ringim Emirate, consisting of Ringim, Garki, Taura, and Gagarawa, owing to the philanthropy of a man called Gerawa, who’s arguably the biggest entrepreneur in the state and the biggest investor in the politics of the state.
“As for the Kazaure zone, which is the governor’s zone, it was more of an even situation between the two parties; again, it may be due to a lack of necessary goodwill and lack of appropriate resources. The local governments include Babura, Kazaure, Gwiwa, Roni, and Yankwashi,” he stated.
Continuing, he disclosed that the PDP had a good show in the Gumel Emirate, which comprised Gumel, Maigatari, and Sule Tankarkar local governments, owing largely to traditional PDP apologists and the refusal of some northern governors to mobilise their people.
