Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka has urged President Bola Tinubu to appoint a new Chairman and Secretary of the Federal Character Commission, FCC, following the declaration by Justice Inyang Ekwo’s ruling on the illegality of the appointment of Muheeba Dantata and Bello Tukur by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Justice Ekwo had ruled on Wednesday that the appointment of 38 people in April 2020 including the Chairman and the Secretary who were both from the North Central, violated the 1999 Constitution as amended and the Act of National Assembly.
He said, “Therefore, I find that there has been failure of the 1st defendant to comply with the provision of Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 4 (1) (a) of the FCC Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 4 of the Guiding Principles and Formulae for the Distribution of all Cadres of Posts,1997 made under Section 4 (1) (a) of the FCCE Act, 2004.”
Mr Chidoka commended the Federal High Court for upholding the sanctity of the laws and urged President Tinubu to immediately appoint a Chairman and Secretary of the FCC with the view of respecting the diversity of the country.
“Today, the Federal High Court has reaffirmed the sanctity of our laws, and I call on President Bola Tinubu to stand on the side of the nascent Nigeria that is rule-governed, respectful of its diversity, and conscious of its historic role as the leading black nation and appoint a new Chairman and Secretary of the FCC immediately.”
In April 2020, one Festus Onifade in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/709/2021 sued the Former President and Attorney-General of the Federation to challenge the appointment of Dantata and Tukur who were both Northerners.
On April 30, 2020, Mr Chidok also wrote urging that the National Assembly reject the nominees as it violated the federal character law, an act which was ignored.
“In March 2021, I raised the alarm again, asking President Buhari not to extend the tenure of the Secretary, a Northerner, like the Chairman. President Buhari flagrantly ignored all wise counsel and reappointed him.”
“I am hopeful because I will act to make Nigeria better. To complain and do nothing makes you complicit in the trouble with Nigeria,” he concluded.
