Appointing Dr ibe kachikwu as NNPC GMD is not enough for Ndigbo — Ezeife

Firsctlass newsline has gathered that since the time Buhari started
appointing his ministers and aides,a particular ethnic group has been
less appearing in his list which is the igbos.A former Governor of
Anambra State in the defunct Third Republic, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife,
has said President Muhammadu Buhari's appointment of Dr. Ibe Kachikwu
to head the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was not enough to
satisfy the South-East.
The President had on Tuesday relieved Dr. Joseph Dawha of his
appointment as the Group Managing Director of the NNPC and appointed
Kachikwu to replace him.
The new NNPC's GMD is from the Igbo-speaking part of Delta State.
But in an interview with a source on Saturday, Ezeife insisted that
the appointment did not undo the alleged lopsidedness of President
Buhari's appointments so far.
He further said, "It is not atonement for the many rejections and
insults that have happened with the National Security and Civil
Defence Corps, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency
and other agencies. How would a President appoint people into key
positions in Nigeria, yet none of them is Igbo? What kind of thing is
that?
If it was on merit, we have the best people in Nigeria and that is not
boasting. On motivation, it is the same thing. If Buhari wishes to
ignore federal character, we are not pleading with him for any
appointment.
"And it is good for us to know where we belong and make appropriate
adjustments. It is not a matter of whether Nigeria appreciates us or
not. If they think we have done enough and we should go, there is more
where what we brought to Nigeria came from. It came from God and we
are not going to throw it away. If we go away, we leave with it. We
like Nigeria, but one cannot criticize and manhandle a precise group
as if they don't exist."
The Igbo leader also described as unfortunate the ethnic
marginalization in the country. According to him, if a person from one
region disagrees with another, there should be a less vindictive way
of expressing it.
The elder statesman further advocated on the development in the House
of Representatives, where every region except the South-East got an
important position.
I have discovered that only a very insignificant minority of the Igbo
people are saying that they have packed all their eggs in one basket;
voting or no voting for any person has not been of consequence to our
people. They went to the polls and voted as they should and they are
proud of it; they can do same tomorrow," he added.
Firstclassnewsline.net