‘Southwest Maginalised’

The Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) has said that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration has neglected the Southwest, adding that the Yoruba nation has never had it so bad, with none of its sons or daughters holding one of the top seven positions in the country.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, the ARG said: “Yoruba is blessed with highly qualified hands and brains that can be in positions of authority and responsibilities. However, they have been marginalised in Abuja.

“Things are now so worrisome that our younger generation is asking us to redefine the true meaning of ‘Federal Character’, which has not made a Southwesterner the Group  Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) since its inception.

“A recent example is the Ministry of Aviation, where some key people recently sacked are Yoruba. Findings have also indicated that, of about 75 recent appointments, about 49 of them are from the Southeast alone,” he noted.

The ARG scribe stated further that,“the illogical explanation offered for this decision was that this was in line with the on-going transformation agenda, asking  if the marginalisation of a people the new definition of transformation?

He said: “ARG demands that the President carries out a root and branch review of key positions in all government parastatals and ensure that competent hands are in charge, while ensuring that no particular ethnic group is marginalised.

“We demand that an urgent and positive step must be taken about this issue. Common sense dictates that you employ your best tools to tackle a task. Yoruba people are the most reliable hands, if Nigeria truly wants to achieve national transformation,” he stated.

—Jamiu Yisa