Fayose: Buhari is an ethnic promoter, causing religious disunity - Governor

Governor Ayodele Fayose has referred to President Muhammadu Buhari as an ethnic champion and a religious bigot following the appointment of Ahmed Abubakar as NIA's DG.

According to a statement by Fayose's spokesman, Lere Olayinka, Fayose faulted Abubakar's appointment saying while Babachir Lawal was replaced by Boss Mustapha from Lawal’s Adamawa hometown, Buhari failed to pick Oke’s replacement from his state.

The Ekiti State governor described Abubakar’s appointment as evidence that Buhari is an a sectional leader, who promotes disunity amongst the citizenery.

“Seeing what President Buhari has turned the country to, the forefathers of Nigeria, who laid the foundation of the country on equity, justice and fairness will be lamenting wherever they are now,” Fayose said.

“President Buhari has consistently demonstrated that he is an ethnic champion, a religious bigot and the number one promoter of disunity in Nigeria. This he has done again with the appointment of yet another northerner as the NIA director-general.

“Ambassador Ayo Oke was removed from office the same day Babachir Lawal was removed as secretary to the government of the federation.

President Muhammadu Buhari

“While Lawal’s replacement came from his home state, Oke’s replacement came from the north. That is unacceptable.”

Continuing, the governor said: “With the appointment of Ahmed Rufai Abubakar as the NIA Director General, all heads of security agencies are now northerners and the question is, is this what those who enshrined federal character in our constitution envisaged?

“The implication of what the president has done is that, when security council meeting is held today, apart from one or two insignificant people, those in the meeting will be people from one section of the country.

“Even para-military agencies are headed by people from President Buhari’s section of the country. This is unfair.

“Those who argued then that the president made the appointments on merit should come to the open to tell Nigerians, especially those from the south that there is no one that merited appointment as Director General of NIA.”

Ahmed Abubakar

Abubakar was appointed as a replacement for Ayo Oke, former head of the intelligence agency, who was sacked on October 30, 2017, following the controversies trailing $43.5m found in an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.