The spokesperson for the ruling All Progressives Congress, Felix Morka, has come out in defense of President Bola Tinubu’s appointment strategy, dismissing allegations of nepotism.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today program, Morka argued that the President is making a conscious effort to ensure fairness in his appointments, citing the balance in key offices such as defense and finance.
Morka cautioned against jumping to conclusions, stating that the government has only been in office for a year and many positions remain unfilled.
He emphasized that President Tinubu represents the entire country, not just one region, and is committed to representing all parts of Nigeria in his appointments.
This defense comes amid growing criticism from northern leaders and lawmakers, who have accused the President of favoring certain regions in his appointments.
Senator Ali Ndume and former lawmaker Shehu Sani have been among the vocal critics, calling for greater competence and balance in the appointment process.
Morka’s statement aims to alleviate these concerns and reassure Nigerians that the government is committed to fairness and representation.
He said, “President Tinubu is trying to be fair… We have some fairness in the key offices and this is a government that has just done one year in office, that has yet to even exhaust all of the opportunities for people to be invited to serve in this government. There are so many offices that are yet to be filled. There is more to come,” he said.
“We have the President, we have the Vice President. We have the defence, we have the finance. The defence is mostly staffed by people from the northern side while the minister of finance and the CBN governor are from the southern side.
“It’s always premature to make that assessment. Hold your breath till a lot of the key positions are filled.
“For those who want to make an issue of ethnicity, the President has the country as his constituency. The President is not the President of the South-West, or the North or the South; he is the President of Nigeria and every part of this country deserves to be effectively represented, consistent with the Federal Character flavour of our constitution.”
