Igbos in Diaspora say govt appointment must reflect federal character principle

The apex Igbo organisation in the Diaspora, Igbo World Assembly (IWA), has faulted the recent appointment by the current administration, saying that it must be reversed to maintain the Federal Character as enshrined in Section 14 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Calling for priority attention on the second Niger Bridge, the President of IWA, Nwachukwu Anakwenze in his keynote address at the just concluded World Igbo Congress (WIC) 2015 Convention held in Los Angeles, California, the United States of America, said the current government appointment has set off a firestorm of condemnation, with critics characterising the nominations as overwhelmingly lopsided, lacking in gender balance and regional equity.

and political posts at all levels of government.
“We therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to adhere strictly to the demands of our constitution with respect to the Federal Character clause and to the wellbeing of all Nigerians. “President Buhari should be reminded that the change promised should be a positive change not change driven by a pattern of bigotry, religious or ethnic chauvinism. We call on Nigerians to join hands with us in ensuring that all Nigerians are treated as equals and not as vassals to imagined ruling class”, he added.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s previous appointments, he said, were disproportionate for a nation that holds together six geopolitical zones, 36 states and a federal capital territory, 774 local governments and over 250 different ethnic nationalities, adding that records have showed that only 25 per cent of the president’s appointments were from the south while an overwhelming 75 percent are the north.
According to IWA President who has been in the vanguard for a better Igbo state, Buhari’s appointments so far have not been encouraging to most Nigerians, particularly to those in the south.
“What President Buhari is doing is not new. It is the re-enactment of the Northernisation policy of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the then Premier of Northern Nigeria, who canvassed and practised the Northernisation policy where all good positions must be occupied by Northerners.
“We are of the view that President Muhammadu Buhari is the President of Nigeria, including the South-East and South-South, and as such is required by law to adhere to the Federal Character provision mandated by the Nigeria constitution, and such provision must not be taken for granted.
“He has violated the constitution- “Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution” which states that the government must ensure “the principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government.” President Mohammed Buhari has no reason as the elected president of Nigeria to disregard the oath he swore to uphold the constitution of Nigeria.
“That the lopsided appointments made by President Buhari are not for the overall interest of Nigeria but solely for Northern Nigeria;
“That the control of all the higher echelons of Government by the North such as control of the Executive, the control of the Judiciary, control of the Senate, control of the House of Reps, the control of the Civil Services; the control of INEC, the control of all the branches of the Armed Force and Security Service Agencies by Northern Nigeria is reprehensible and unacceptable to the people of Southern Nigerian in general and to the Igbo in particular;
“That denying the South Eastern geo-political zone of Nigeria the position of the Secretary to the Federal Government and other senior positions means that Igbos are totally shut out in the upper echelons of the APC government under Muhammad Buhari.”
The Diaspora group, among other things, further demanded that the National Conference decisions must be honoured and implemented, construction of the Federal roads in the South-East and South-South zones be completed, construction of the Airports and Seaports in the South-East and South-South zones must be completed, among others.
The apparent lack of regional balance in the appointments, according to IWA must be reversed for a better Nigeria.
Describing the appointments as violation of federal character law, Anakwenze said that under the provisions of the Constitution, the government must ensure “the principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media