From Sola Ojo, Abuja
A group, Justice and Equity Forum, has expressed displeasure with the composition of the board of the South West Development Commission (SWDC), saying that it didn’t reflect the principle of federal character.
Coordinator of the group, Kehinde Adebayo, in a statement yesterday argued that the composition didn’t only throw equity away, it showed that the many months of looking for men to man the all-important commission was a waste.
This was just as the group lashed out at both arms of the National Assembly for appointing two Oyo men to chair the committee on SWDC in the Senate and House of Representatives respectively.
The statement read in part: “Recent happenings about appointment under President Bola Tinubu’s administration dismay us, and especially the membership of the South West Development Commission, concerns us. Regional balance and federal character were not considered.
“More baffling is the appointment of three Ekiti men as chairman, executive director, and a member. It brings to the fore constitutional and equity issues that amount to over concentration of leadership roles within a single state. That undermines the principles of federal character and regional balance, which are vital for fair representation in Nigeria’s governance structures. It is illegal and unconstitutional.
“We had expected that bearing in mind that six states form SWDC, the leadership positions would have reflected the region’s diversity in order to ensure trust is maintained and effective governance is assured.
“The appointment of multiple top officials from the same state would jeopardize the running of the affairs of the commission. It is democracy and numbers apply.
“Of importance too is the appointment of chairmen of committee on SWDC by the Red and Green chambers of the National Assembly.
The Senate especially didn’t do well by appointing an Oyo man as its committee chairman again while the House of Representatives had previously appointed another Oyo man as its own committee chairman too. While we feel it is not too late to correct, we urge the National Assembly to take equity, justice and fairness into consideration when deliberating on issues like this in the future. It breeds suspicion.
“We also like to call on President Bola Tinubu and other appointing authorities to be fair and ensure balanced representation when appointing people. While we feel it is not too late to correct all these obvious lapses, we urge the President to look critically on the composition of South West development Commission.”