NEW TELEGRAPH
There appears to be palpable an- ger and unease in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as core loyalists of President Bola Tinubu have allegedly taken charge of all spheres of government in the current dispensation. This development is coming shortly after the unveiling of a special presidential committee to harmonise the process of selecting persons into the boards and parastatals recently dissolved by President Tinubu even as allegations of racketeering have pervaded the National Assembly ahead of the constitution of standing committees.
Recall that the President had on Friday last week, constituted a special committee headed by the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to accomplish the task of replacing affected board appointments. New Telegraph learnt that the committee is tasked with the responsibility of creating selection and nomination modalities in line with the law governing the requirements and qualifications expected of appointees in the affected Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
According to a source within the Presidency: “Tinubu demands thoroughness in understanding the agencies whose establishment Act man- dates federal character representation or specified educational and technical expertise.” However, it was gathered that members of the special committee, who will be working alongside the Chief of Staff, are the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Special Adviser to the President on Political and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mallam Yau Darazo and some legal and private sector experts as members.
But a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confided in this newspaper that the party was neither in- formed nor carried along by the Presidency. He equally frowned at the arrangement, which placed the SGF under the Chief of Staff in the selection of the committee. The source said: “We are just looking at the whole drama here.
“The party knows nothing about what is going on and they want us to keep quiet in all these. “It was this kind of thing that made our Na- tional Chairman to speak out and they almost called for his head. “This is party democ- racy and the party has to be accorded the due recognition and respect. “But the situation we have found ourselves in is so pathetic that the president is gradually allowing his Lagos boys to take over and proper charge of everything.
It hurts, honestly. “For instance, how can the president set up a committee and make the SGF work under the Chief of Staff? “Where is this done? Governors, including our own progressive governors are now at the mercy of the Chief of Staff? “Some of us are go- ing to raise these issues because if this is allowed to continue unchecked, it will affect our chances in future elections.
READ THE FULL STORY IN NEW TELEGRAPH
