Chinelo Obogo
Former national legal adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Muiz Banire, has said he does not need political appointments to remain relevant or to survive.
He made this statement while reacting to the opposition of the three senators from Lagos State, senators Remi Tinubu, Solomon Olamilekan and Gbenga Ashafa, to his appointment as chairman of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
President Muhammadu Buhari had recently announced Banire’s appointment as the AMCON chairman and forwarded his name to the Senate for confirmation.
But on Tuesday, Adeola laid a petition on the floor of the Senate against Banire’s nomination, which was also signed by Tinubu and Ashafa.
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Adeola had said the letter emanated from their constituents who want Banire’s appointment revoked.
Responding to the development, Banire said in a statement that his nomination is not a quota appointment and maintained that he does not need to occupy public office to be relevant or to add value to his community.
He said: “Recent developments relating to my nomination as chairman of AMCON by President Buhari, have opened a new page in my public life necessitating some sort of public engagement.
However, except for the agitation of my teeming supporters and well-wishers, I would have kept mute and ignored the objection raised by Tinubu, Solomon and Ashafa, representing Lagos State on the floor of the Senate arm of the National Assembly.
“In the first place, let me recognise the constitutional right of the three senators to express their views without let or hindrance.
Because of the respect I have for the offices of the senators, I will not join issues with them, particularly when it has become traditional and conventional for them to be objectors on occasions such as this.”