The news of the appointment of the two-term former governor of Benue State, three terms senator and immediate past minister of Special Duties as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation came as a big surprise to many albeit a surprise as delightful as an unexpected Christmas present.
The appointment was a masterly performance by President Tinubu. Besides being a round peg in a round hole, SGF Akume is a ready answer to the age-long question of balancing the ethno-religious and regional hegemony of Nigeria.
Zeroing on George Akume for the coveted office of SGF among many eminent Nigerians was a systematic and courageous departure from the past besides being a pragmatic first step towards the development of Nigeria.
Akume’s appointment is quite confirmatory of Tinubu’s avowed subscription to good governance and quality representation. A popular grassroots politician, a former two terms governor, three terms senator and a former minister, Tinubu couldn’t settle for a better choice than Akume for the office of SGF which is more or less the engine room of the government.
As a politician, SGF Akume’s name is engraved in the APC hall of fame for his laudable contributions to the growth of the party, right from its formative years to now that it has taken over as the ruling party in Nigeria. His influence went far beyond the borders of Benue State where even without his party, the APC, in power, he kept the PDP on its toes. But for his resilience and perseverance, APC might’ve died a slow asphyxiating death in the middle belt as envisaged by Samuel Ortom, the state governor and Iorchia Ayu, PDP chairman.
President Tinubu deserves accolades for walking his talk. When campaigning he promised to bring on board people with the experience, panache, commitment, intelligence, versatility and ability to deliver given assignments for the overall benefit of the people without compromising the best interest of Nigeria. This cap fitted Akume like a glove.
His appointment is indicative of President Tinubu’s dedication to all Nigerians, regardless of their religious, regional or ethnic backgrounds. It reinforces his steadfastness in his pledge to unite Nigeria and ensure equal quality representation.
President Tinubu deserves commendation for maintaining his trademark commitment to meritocracy. It’s a deviation from the primordial tendencies that kept Nigeria moving in a hopeless circle of retardation.
Now that President Tinubu is done with perhaps the trickiest appointment; that of the SGF, and both he and SGF Akume look set to hit the ground running, I think Nigerians should put behind inimical tendencies of exploiting religious and regional fault lines to resolve political setbacks to have enough time and energy to probe governance and ensure quality service delivery.
It’s going to be more beneficial for all and sundry to rally behind and support the new SGF to give his best shot ever for Nigeria. As it was before, so it is today; Nigeria is for us to make of mar. Certainly, we could make Nigeria by intelligent and patriotic choices or mar it by silly egocentric choices.
The newly sworn-in Tinubu administration inherited a myriad of problems mostly leftovers from the days of the PDP which the immediate past administration couldn’t resolve satisfactorily.
President Tinubu is leaving no one in doubt about his determination to make Nigeria a better place than he met it. His pragmatic approach to biting issues like the swift decision of fuel subsidy removal is indicative of his excellent grasp of the Nigerian situation. We owe it to Nigeria to support him and his carefully handpicked appointees.
Maiwada Dammallam sent this from Katsina
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