Dead Persons in Buhari’s Board Appointment Rise to 7

By Dipo Olowookere

The number of dead persons appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari into board of state-owned agencies has risen to seven.

Last Friday, Mr Buhari announced the appointment of 1,467 board chairmen and members of some agencies and parastatals.

The list comprised 209 board chairmen and 1,258 members.

But it was discovered that in the list were some dead persons and this has generated mixed reactions, with some lambasting the Presidency for the error.

Initially, two dead persons were discovered in the list, but as at Saturday night, the number has swollen to seven.

The dead appointees already found were Senator Francis Okpozo, Christopher Utov, Donald Ugbaja, Garba Attahiru, Umar Dange, Nabbs Imegwu and Madgalene Kumu.

Mr Okpozo, 81, was appointed Chairman of the Nigerian Press Council. He died in December 2016 and President Buhari had sent a letter of condolence to the family.

Mr Utov was appointed member of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research and he died in March, 2017.

Mr Ugbaja, who was appointed by the President as a member of the Consumer Protection Council, died on November 29, 2017.

But reacting to the issue, spokesman of the President, Mr Garba Shehu, said the error in the list was not enough to castigate the President for.

According to him, “no human undertaking can be free of mistakes,” maintaining that “there is no scandal” involved in the appointments.

Mr Shehu explained that the names of the deceased persons on the list came about because it was compiled by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir David Lawal.

“The list has a history which explains the controversy around it.

“In 2015, Mr President requested all state chapters of the party to submit names of 50 party members for board appointments.”

“The names were compiled by the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and forwarded to SGF.

“However, complaint arose from some Governors who felt they were not carried along in the process.

“To answer this, the President constituted a committee under Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo to review and reflect the interests of the Governors.

“The President’s trips for medical attention slowed down completion of the process and the current SGF was only directed to complete that process by releasing the list which he apparently did without altering it.”