Leader of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), Chief Edwin Clark, has lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing, as the chairman of the board of the Police Trust Fund, Suleiman Abba, who was sacked as Inspector General of Police (IGP) over alleged disloyalty by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the elder statesman stressed the importance of the Federal character principle introduced to ensure equitable representation and as well prevent the dominance of persons from a few states, religion or particular ethnic group in the governance of the country and the sphere of the public sector.
He said by appointing Abba who is from the northwest as Chairman even as the Secretary of the Fund is also from the region, Buhari has shown that he is more about compensating those who performed selfish tasks for than the unity of the country.
Clark stated: “It is pertinent to state that the prerogative of ensuring that this aspect of the laws of the land is implemented and or executed, lies squarely on the shoulders of the President of the country, presently, Muhammadu Buhari.
“However, it is quite disturbing that the same man who swore to uphold the laws of the land, is flagrantly breaching them. A case in point is the recent re-appointment of Suleiman Abba as Chairman, Board of Trustees, Nigeria Police Trust Fund, on 5th May, 2023.
“Suleiman Abba is from Jigawa State, in the North Western geo-political zone the previous Secretary of the Fund, Mr. Abdullahi Bala is from Sokoto State, also from North Western geo-political zone.
“The previous Secretary who resigned his post to contest gubernatorial election is also from Sokoto State, northern part of the country. One expected that if the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the police fund is from the northern part of the country, the Secretary should come from the South and vice versa, because this is one of the ways of keeping Nigeria’s unity.
“Mr Suleiman Abba is a former Inspector General of Police (IGP). He joined the Nigeria Police Force as a graduate in 1984 and rose to the rank of Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in February 2012. For him to be made IGP, many senior officers and about seven (7) Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) including Mike Zuokumor, who hail from Bayelsa State as President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, were forced out when they were retired from service. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan did not want to appoint Mike Zuokumor, who was qualified by merit because they were from the same State/Region.
“With such huge concession made by Mr. President Jonathan to appoint Suleiman Abba IGP, many of us thought Abba would serve the country, the Nigeria Police Force and the President Jonathan’s administration with all diligence and truthfulness as Inspector General of Police, and also having regard to how close President Jonathan was with the traditional ruler who recommended Suleiman Abba for the appointment.
“So, we were shocked and disappointed to hear of the roles he played during the 2015 presidential elections which took place between 28th and 29th March, 2015, especially in Kano State, from where I got calls from prominent Nigerians informing me that the Inspector General of Police was fully involved in rigging the elections for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who was also contesting the presidential elections, that he in fact, encouraged under age voting, and allowed voting to continue into the dark hours of the night.
“As someone with whom I’m close, I called him on the phone, and confronted him of all the allegations, but he denied everything. I reported the matter to President Goodluck Jonathan when I returned from my village Kiagbodo immediately after the elections.
“Further investigations confirmed all the reports we received to be true.”
Noting the the Nigeria Police Trust Fund is a federal government agency, Clark affirmed: “But in appointing people to the Board, President Muhammadu Buhari disregarded the provisions of the Federal Character as enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
“President Buhari has a penchant for doing this. And this is very unfortunate. It is one of the reasons why the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum, which I lead, took the Federal Government to court for breeching the constitution.”
The former federal Commissioner for Information added: “The re-appointment of Suleiman Abba as Chairman of the Police Trust Fund, appears to some of us as a continuous compensation or reward for a job well-done for the roles he played during the 2015 general elections.
“One cannot also forget the disloyal action of Suleiman Abba, when as IGP, he went to the airport to receive Muhammadu Buhari, without the knowledge and or authorisation of his principal, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who was the President at the time, and which led to his sack from the Police Force.
“Today, President Muhammadu Buhari is eulogising and praising the legacy of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, his peaceful conduct during the 2015, general elections, when he conceded defeat.
“The question President Muhammadu Buhari should ask himself is what legacy does he want to leave after his years as civilian president?
“Is that of compensating people with appointments, most times the juicier ones, for aiding and executing wrong acts, such as he has just done for Suleiman Abba and his cohorts, who were alleged to have conspired and worked to remove Dr. Jonathan from office at all cost? Is it that of breaching the constitution of the country? Is it that of nepotism?
“Is it that of leaving the country more divided and more devastated than he met it?
“There is still room to make amends within the remaining few days that Mr. President has embarked on appointing people to offices, if it can be evenly distributed to all sections of the country, as stipulated in the Federal Character laws, and not in a manner of compensating wrong doing.”
Clark also urged President Buhari to obey court rulings, including that delivered on Nnamdi Kanu “And as he winds up his tenure, to re-examine his actions.”
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