Boards: Obi kicks as Tinubu offers opposition govs slots

President Bola Tinubu offered board seats to state governors, including those who were elected on the platforms of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party. The Labour Party, and its standard bearer in the most recent presidential election, Peter Obi, has fought against this offer.

Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the governor of Kwara State and the head of the Nigeria Governors Forum, revealed at the forum’s meeting on Tuesday night in Abuja that the President had requested that the governors nominate qualified individuals to serve on the boards and parastatals of the Federal Government agencies that had been disbanded a month earlier.

The boards of over 153 agencies, parastatals, institutions, and state-owned businesses have reportedly been dissolved as a result of Tinubu’s announcement.

The 209 boards that former President Muhammadu Buhari created in December 2017 included the disbanded boards among their members.

The new nominees were expected to fill no less than 2,000 open positions on the boards.

Notable organizations include the North-East Development Commission, which has 12 open board positions, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which has seven board seats open, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, which has seven seats, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, which has 21 seats, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, which has 12, the National Universities Commission, which has 21, the Transmission Commission of Nigeria, which has 14, and the National Health Insurance Authority, which has 12.

Other organizations include the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (7), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (7), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (8), Nigerian Police Trust Fund (8), Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (10), Federal Institute of Industrial Research (11) and National Centre for Technology Management (11).

Additionally included on the list are the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (11), Nigerian Customs Service (11), National Pension Commission (17), National Agency for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (11), National Identity Management Commission (19), West Africa Examination Council (8), Niger Delta Development Commission (13), National Institute of Sports (12), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company (12), National Bureau of Statistics (15), Federal Inland Revenue Services (15), and Federal Ai

Governor Abdulrazaq stated in a statement following the NGF meeting on Wednesday that the group’s participants had decided to thank the President for giving governors the chance to nominate board members outside of their respective parties.

The governor also revealed that the National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency briefed the forum on the instances of flooding across the nation and the steps taken so far to reduce them.

As Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and UN Ambassador for Peace, visited Nigeria to advocate for girls’ rights, they also hosted Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary General of the UN.

The state chief executives stated that they were ready to work with the UN and the Malala Fund to advance policies that are inclusive of all genders and that take gender into account, including ensuring that girls have access to high-quality education and taking other affirmative steps nationwide.

The governors agreed to adopt strategies to deal with natural disaster occurrences at the local government and community levels in order to stop the loss of lives and property at the conclusion of the meeting.

Part of the communiqué read, “Members (of NGF) resolved to commend the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President, Bola Tinubu for showing leadership by extending the opportunity to governors across party lines, by asking them to nominate competent people from their fold for appointment into boards of parastatals.

The forum heard from the directors general of the National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency about the prevalence of flooding throughout the nation and held discussions about urgent proactive measures to save lives, livelihoods, important infrastructure, and protect national food security.

“Members resolved to work with pertinent agencies to develop a comprehensive and federated response while utilizing the 2023 Seasonal Climate Prediction, Annual Flood Outlook, flood risk maps, and the Climate-Related Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Strategy.”

The National Emergency Management Agency briefed governors on how to achieve a common goal of creating a safer and more resilient Nigeria in the face of the increasing frequency of disasters worldwide.

“NEMA called on state governors to establish functional State Emergency Management Agencies, Local Emergency Management Committees, and community volunteers with sufficient legal backing, funding, and trained manpower to:

“Support knowledge, resource, and experience sharing between states, NEMA, and other responsible partners.

“Support the signing of Mutual Aid Agreements between states as disasters occur in various locations and at various times.

Encourage the private sector’s involvement as part of its corporate social responsibility, and promote policy alignment and community involvement for disaster risk reduction.

Every dollar spent by the United States on risk mitigation and prevention can prevent up to $15 in post-disaster recovery costs, according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The communiqué also mentioned that the governors urged NEMA and NiMet to create a thorough partnership framework to guide their interaction with the states.

The governors also expressed their sympathy to Caleb Muftwang and Dauda Lawal, the respective counterparts for the states of Plateau and Zamfara, regarding the senseless killings in some areas of their respective states.

They pleaded with the Federal Government to work with them in protecting people and property all over the nation.

However, in response to Tinubu’s offer of board seats to governors regardless of party affiliation, the LP referred to it as a “gimmick” to entice the opposition chieftains and governments into the ruling party.

This tactful action, according to Obi-Datti Campaign Council Chief Spokesman Yunusa Tanko, ”will not change the fact that Tinubu’s presidency is an illegitimate government.

He said, “We have vehemently opposed this government, and the APC is doing everything in their dirty book to ensure they legitimize it. After the court renders its judgment and makes its proclamation, we will only act in accordance with our legal obligations.