According to the North-Central All Progressives Congress, or APC, Forum, its accusations of unfair appointments against Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, were based on grievances from North-Central zone stakeholders.
The explanation was provided Tuesday by Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the chairman of the North-Central APC Forum, in response to a statement released by Terrence Kuanum, the SGF’s spokesperson, characterizing the Forum’s accusations against Akume as untrue and deceptive.
The North-Central APC Forum accused Akume of favoring the Tiv people of Benue State in appointments made by the Office of the SGF in a statement signed by Zazzaga and issued during a meeting in Abuja on Sunday.
According to the Forum, the region is not feeling the effects of Akume’s appointment as SGF, which he said was designated to the North-Central by the APC. The SGF was urged by the APC Forum to lead the zone and accompany the entire North-Central in appointments.
In the event that the SGF does not alter his leadership style by bringing the entire North-Central along, Zazzaga said that the organization would organize demonstrations and agitation against him.
On Monday, however, Terrence Kuanum, Special Adviser, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Public Affairs, issued a statement in which he characterized the North-Central APC Forum as malign actors who are being funded to target Akume and President Bola Tinubu.
According to the statement, the SGF has drawn numerous projects to the entire North-Central region, but he is not in charge of the President’s appointments.
According to the statement, Zazzaga also voiced the North-Central APC Forum’s pleasure with the SGF’s “purposeful take off of duties” since taking office at the North-Central APC’s third quarter meeting in Jos in 2023.
The North-Central APC Forum responded to the accusations of lopsided appointments against Akume on Tuesday, stating in a statement issued by Zazzaga following a meeting in Abuja that the accusations were based on grievances from APC stakeholders in the North-Central region.
Referencing a statement released in August 2023 by the Zone A Peoples Assembly (ZAPA), a Benue organization, the North-Central APC Forum urged the Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh, Prof. James Ayatse, to summon the SGF to account for the imbalanced appointments that favored his Jemgbagh kinsmen of the Tiv ethnic group.
According to Zazzaga, the SGF has strayed from the leadership style that caused the North-Central APC Forum to praise him in 2023.
The statement said in part, “The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum, has been drawn to a statement titled ‘SGF AKUME FOCUSED ON THE ASSIGNMENT GIVEN TO HIM BY MR PRESIDENT, NOT DETERRED BY ACTS OF MISCHIEF MAKERS,’ which claims that the SGF has been unfairly appointed are false and misleading.
“Just to set the record straight, the members of the North-Central APC Forum are legitimate APC members who genuinely care about the party and the nation. Our concerns regarding the SGF’s uneven and unbalanced appointments were based on our observations, primarily on grievances from North-Central stakeholders.
It is documented that in August 2023, the Zone A Peoples Assembly (ZAPA), a group of Benue natives led by its president, Fannen Mondo, issued a statement requesting that His Royal Majesty, the Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh, Prof. James Ayatse, summon Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), to order what it described as lopsided appointments in favor of the people of the Jemgbagh extraction of the Tiv nation in Benue State.
Additionally, the organization condemned the appointment of Dr. Tyover Dajo, a member of the Akume Dajo family and a relative of the SGF, as Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Wannune in the state’s Tarka Local Government Area (LGA). According to ZAPA, the SGF planned to replace Prof. Joseph Utsev, whom he had chosen as minister, with his cousin, Dr. Tyover Dajo, as Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Wannune. Water Resources Minister at the moment is Prof. Joseph Utsev.
ZAPA, in the statement, urged the Tor Tiv to summon the SGF to order, saying: “We want to make it very obvious that Akume is not demonstrating appropriate leadership and statecraft in the movements he is making in the recent past. He is deliberately focusing his allegiance solely on Jemgbagh, the little hamlet from which he hails, rather than the greater Tiv race or even Benue State, where he is, in a sense, the senior governmental official.
“The SGF stated that we are now criticizing him after praising him in 2023. If he modified his leadership style after we awarded him a passmark in 2023, should we say nothing? Is it not our duty to speak up?
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Indeed, we applauded the SGF in 2023 for his excellent leadership, but he then transformed and began appointing just his own people, ignoring those in the North-Central. Considering this anomaly, we as North-Central stakeholders cannot remain mute.
In the event that the SGF claims that Mr. President is the one who makes appointments, we would like to know who is recommending those nominations.
We ought to know who suggested the Water Resources Minister, who was his wife’s relative. Appointments from the SGF wife’s village have even been made by the Water Resources Minister. The Chairman of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri’s Governing Council, the Executive Director of the Federal Housing Authority, the MD Shippers’ Council, and other individuals are all from his village; who suggested their appointments?
We are asking Nigerians to verify who is being appointed to jobs in the numerous agencies that are part of the Ministry of Water Resources.
“With our previous call, we aimed to modify the SGF’s leadership style by bringing the entire North-Central zone along, so we don’t want to get too complicated. We are hoping that he will demonstrate leadership and bring the North-Central together.
According to his representatives, we are not extorting him, and we are not supported by any organization. Our concerns are being expressed solely as valid members of the North-Central APC.
However, we will be forced to provide additional evidence to support our concerns if the SGF declines to lead our call. We will also stage protests to demand that he either resign from his current position on behalf of the North-Central or change his flawed leadership style; if he does not, we will demand his removal.
