APC leaders want Buhari to remove Jonathan’s appointees

A fresh crisis is currently brewing in the All Progressives Congress over the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the political appointees of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan. Some leaders of the ruling party, who faulted Buhari’s retention of the PDP members, called for their sacking and the appointment of APC members in their stead. Besides, some members of the APC also lamented that Buhari was not helping the party with funds. A chieftain of the APC in Lagos, who did not want his name in print, told our correspondent that they had not benefitted anything from Buhari since he took over power eight months ago. He said it was as if the President was rewarding members of the Peoples Democratic Party and punishing APC members. He said, “President Buhari took over on May 29, 2015 and has not rewarded APC members. Most of the heads of departments and agencies are members of the PDP who worked for Jonathan. For example, Onyeka Onwenu is still the Director- General of the National Women Centre while Mike Omeri is still the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency. “A former Special Adviser to Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, is still the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria while Mr. Sola Omole is still the Director-General of the Nigeria Television Authority. “There are almost 100 ambassadorial positions that are supposed to have been filled but these people are still occupying the offices. We are not asking for security or sensitive positions but all these appointments I mentioned are not statutory but merely political. “Our people who worked so hard and spent money on Buhari’s campaign are languishing. There are many competent people in the APC.” Another APC chieftain, who also craved anonymity, said if Buhari continued this way, the APC might not be able to retain power beyond 2019. He said most of the people that were being appointed by the President were either northerners or members of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change. The party leader added that about 15 of the 36 people appointed as ministers did not work for the party in the last elections and were not popular in their states. He recalled that many of the ministers were rejected by their state governors and state party chapters because they had no roots or allegiance to them. He said, “In Bayelsa State, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri, was a member of the PDP during the elections and he campaigned for Jonathan. He defected to the APC in August and was appointed a minister the following month. And yet, the core APC members were abandoned. “The Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, from Gombe State, is not an APC member. The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, is not an APC member. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, was a PDP member during the election and there are many more examples.”