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General News of Monday, 13 March 2023

Source: www.tribuneonlineng.com

Don’t allow parochial politics drive the process of constituting the next cabinet, Bunu tells Tinubu

Nuhu Ibrahim Bunu Nuhu Ibrahim Bunu

A member of the Stakeholder Relations Directorate of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Nuhu Ibrahim Bunu, has advised the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not to allow parochial politics or the selfish ambition of potential officeholders to drive the process of constituting the next cabinet.

The member of the Stakeholder Relations Directorate, in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune, advocated that the offices of Chief of Staff to the President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) should be reserved for Christians.

He explained that it is important that after the May 29, 2023 swearing-in of Asiwaju as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, necessary steps should be taken to proactively make major appointments of Christians into top positions to give them a sense of belonging.

He stated that this became necessary to give Christians assurances and comfort that it’s not an Islamic government so that it is not capitalized upon to continue divisive campaigns and propaganda against the APC and the policies of the incoming government.

Asiwaju Tinubu must not make the mistake of proceeding with the task of constituting a new government based on a business-as-usual strategy, which will be inconsiderate. The opportunity of constituting a new all-inclusive government must be used strategically to reconcile the APC with Nigerians. Sacrifices must be made by every leader of the party to create the conditions for an Asiwaju Tinubu-led federal government to emerge with strong legitimacy and a wider support base among Nigerians.

“There is a need to reflect religious considerations in the distribution of political offices.” Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must consciously avoid any mistake that could be used by political adversaries to suggest religious insensitivity to Nigerians. He must take steps to manage the aspirations of individual leaders for positions in the next federal government. Some positions, for instance, must be deliberately balanced with religious considerations.

“Some specific recommendations may be necessary at this point. The offices of Chief of Staff to the President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) would have to be allocated and reserved for Christians. Given that the President and Vice President are both Muslims, no Muslim should aspire for any of these offices. Opportunists may argue that little consideration was given to religion in the past. “This kind of lop-sided reality must be corrected as a strategic approach to dousing religious tension in the country.”

Bunu further pointed out that with a Muslim President and a Muslim Vice President, it is only logical to appoint Christians as Chief of Staff (COS) and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), respectively, to pacify Christians and create inclusiveness.

He added that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs to recognize that the Muslim-Muslim ticket he introduced that won the 2023 presidential election, if not managed to produce the desired outcome of religious inclusivity, could further widen the division among Nigerians, adding that a successfully managed Muslim-Muslim ticket would make a Christian-Christian ticket viable and possible shortly.

Bunu added that the only way to show Nigerians that the Islamization agenda has become a singsong for the opposition is only the hallucinatory proclamation of some individuals and groups.