A rights group, Campaign for Democracy (CD), has lambasted
Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, for appointing two close relations of
Senator Danjuma Goje, a former governor of the state, as commissioners in his
cabinet, describing the act as “the promotion of aristocracy and demotion of
democracy.”
The state governor had recently named Goje’s daughter,
Hussaina Goje, and son-in-law, Mr. Dasuki Jalo Waziri, as commissioners in his
new cabinet.
The governor also named five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains
in the state who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the
twilight of Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo’s administration as commissioners.
But taking exception to the governor’s actions, particularly
the appointment of two members of the family of ‘his political godfather’ as
commissioners, the CD said the people of the state ought to stage a protest to
make Yahaya rescind the decision.
In a communiqué it issued yesterday, after its
national convention held in Owo, Ondo State, the CD pilloried the governor,
stating: “Such appointments fall short of the basic principles of fair play,
natural justice and tenets and norms of democracy.
“It is an extreme display of greed and a ploy to
ambush dividends of democracy from getting to the grassroots. It makes the
wealth of the state to be concentrated in the hands of a few members of the
family of the former state governor, and it can best be described as myopic and
senseless appointments which are the promotion of aristocracy and demotion of
democracy.
“We, therefore, urge the people of Gombe State to
protest against the appointment without further delay.”
In the communiqué signed by the group President, Bako
Usman; General Secretary, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, and Secretary of Publicity and
Publications, Lanre Ogunyinka, the CD wondered why the soul of a state
comprising millions of people should be sold to an individual simply because he
is a political godfather.
According to the right group, “By now, Nigerians
should be resisting attempts to sell the soul of our public institutions to
political godfathers, as government institution is our joint patrimony and not
the property of any individual.
“We must stop impunity in our political system if we
must move forward as a country. A situation where the wealth of the state would
be in the hands of a few would be vehemently rejected.”
Meanwhile, the CD has commended the Nigerian
judiciary for ordering the release of rights activist and politician, Mr.
Omoyele Sowore, after spending days in the detention of the Department of State
Service (DSS).
It said: “We commend the Nigerian judiciary for
living up to the expectation in its professionalism by couraging the release of
Sowore, who was arrested and detained for close to two months by the
overzealous DSS operatives for unwarranted prosecution.
“The court pronouncement was no doubt a
plus for our country’s democracy because the judiciary was not able to be
ambushed by the presidency this time.”
The group consequently called on President Muhammadu Buhari,
to “rather than resorting to tyranny, it is advisable you give Nigeria good
governance as that is the only universal remedy for revolution or uninterrupted
democracy.”
In her goodwill message at the convention, the immediate
past President of the CD, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, admonished civil society
organisations to be united, focused, organised and nationalistic in their quest
for a better Nigeria at this period that Nigeria is striving to survive all
sorts of nightmares.
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