The Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have turned down President Bola Ahmed Tinubu‘s proposal to opposition governors, News About Nigeria reports.
Tinubu had reached out to the governors, requesting them to nominate qualified individuals for board appointments in Federal Government agencies that were dissolved last month.
Following Tinubu’s dissolution of governing boards in over 153 agencies, parastatals, institutions, and government-owned companies, there are approximately 2,000 vacant positions that need to be filled by new nominees.
Notable agencies with available board slots include the North-East Development Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, National Universities Commission, and Transmission Commission of Nigeria, among others.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, announced during a forum meeting that the members had resolved to commend the President for providing an opportunity for governors to nominate board members from across party lines.
However, the Chief Spokesman for the Obi-Datti Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, dismissed Tinubu’s offer as a ploy to lure opposition governments and leaders into the ruling party.
Tanko labelled Tinubu’s presidency as illegitimate and claimed that the opposition would only recognize the government’s legitimacy after a court decision.
Tanko further stated, “Sending letters to state governors is part of the process of legitimizing their governance, which we are resisting. At the moment, LP has only one governor.
The belief is that the governor may likely dance to their tune. But the truth about it is that will the APC tell you they don’t have party people in Abia State that they can nominate?
Why must they go through the governor to do so? What they are aiming to do is to indirectly co-opt him into their party. That’s the truth.”
Peter Obi’s media aide, Tai Emeka Obasi, expressed scepticism about Tinubu’s offer, stating that it was a mere gimmick.
According to News About Nigeria, Obasi emphasized that while the president’s actions might appear positive, they were insufficient to legitimize his government.
He highlighted the ongoing legal challenges Tinubu faces and concluded that the opposition views his government as interim.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, mentioned that he was unaware of the President’s request to the governors for nominations.
He refrained from making any comments on behalf of the party until he had spoken with the PDP governors.
