A socio-economic pressure group, Arewa Economic Forum, has urged President Bola Tinubu to be fair and equitable in the appointment of competent Nigerians into government positions.
The chairman of the forum, Ibrahim Dandakata, who said this in a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja, specifically sited appointments related to finance and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Dandakata urged Tinubu to look for competent Nigerians across the length and breadth of the country for the purposes of fairness and inclusiveness.
“As you may be aware, finance and ICT are crucial to the economic eldorado that the president envisions for Nigeria.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance manages the finances of the federation, including controlling and monitoring federal revenues and expenditures
“The Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy develop a knowledge-based economy and facilitate the development of the ICT industry towards increasing its contribution to GDP.
“The two ministries play greater roles in facilitating businesses, e-commerce, job creation, empowerment and increased efficiency and productivity, which are vital for economic growth and prosperity,” he said.
According to him, the importance of Finance and ICT sectors are such that we must be circumspect in the kind of decisions we make in those sectors.
He cited the appointments of Mr Wale Edun, finance minister, Folashodun Shonubi, acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, among others, as capable of sending wrong signals.
He, however, commended the president for retaining some performing chief executives of some key government agencies.
“As a patriotic, refined statesman who won a credible, national mandate on February, Tinubu has a duty to not only be fair to all parts of the country but also to be seen to be fair to all parts.
“Meanwhile, we must commend the President for retaining some performing chief executive officers of leading agencies in Economy and Technology like Bello Hassan of NDIC and Kashifu Inuwa of NITDA.
“We believe that more competent, qualified and experienced technocrats from the North can also be appointed to head crucial sectors of the economy,” he said.
