The Nigerians in Diaspora Merit and Compliance Foundation (NDMCF) has strongly criticised calls for appointments into key national institutions, including the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), to be determined by the alphabetical order of states under zoning arrangements rather than by merit.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday and signed by its Country Director, Dr Sani Usman, the Foundation described the proposal as deeply flawed and hostile to meritocracy, excellence and sustainable national development.

According to the organisation, substituting competence with arbitrary criteria such as alphabetic rotation would weaken institutions and erode public confidence in governance.

NDMCF said its position was consistent with its core mandate of promoting integrity, merit-based leadership and strict adherence to legal and ethical standards in public administration.

“Alphabetical sequencing is an administrative convenience, not a governance philosophy,” the statement said. “It has no place whatsoever in determining leadership for institutions entrusted with safeguarding Nigeria’s fiscal sovereignty.”

The Foundation argued that concerns about federal character and regional balance had already been adequately addressed through the appointment of one Executive Director from each of the country’s six geopolitical zones.

It noted that President Bola Tinubu had demonstrated commitment to inclusion and competence by appointing experienced professionals drawn from across the federation.

Describing the zoning-by-alphabet proposal as regressive and mischievous, NDMCF warned that subordinating competence to such a system was inconsistent with modern public administration and national reform.

“The Nigeria Revenue Service, as the apex institution responsible for revenue mobilisation, compliance, enforcement and institutional credibility, requires leadership of the highest competence, experience and integrity,” the statement said.

“To subordinate merit, professional depth, gender balance and institutional continuity to the accident of alphabetic order is to deliberately weaken state capacity. It rewards mediocrity and undermines excellence.”

The Foundation further stated that, if such a provision was indeed inserted into any version of the enabling Act circulated by the National Assembly, it would rank among the most ill-considered clauses in the history of Nigerian public administration.

It warned that any such clause would be indefensible in principle and disastrous in practice, urging lawmakers to urgently remove it to protect institutional effectiveness and legislative credibility.

NDMCF also raised concerns over reports suggesting that the clause did not exist in the version of the Bill assented to by the President.

“If this is correct, then the real scandal lies not in the appointments themselves, but in the possibility of post-assent alterations to statutory texts,” the statement said, describing such a practice as a threat to constitutional order, the rule of law and the integrity of the legislative process.

Reaffirming its commitment to systems that reward merit, hard work and talent over nepotism and favouritism, the Foundation stressed that equity should never be confused with arbitrariness.

“Federal character and inclusion were never intended to negate merit; they were designed to ensure fairness alongside competence,” it said.

According to the organisation, the professional backgrounds of the appointed Executive Directors, spanning tax administration, finance, technology, policy and institutional reform, show that merit, diversity and geopolitical balance can coexist.

“Nigeria does not need alphabetical governance,” the Foundation concluded. “It needs strong institutions led by credible professionals chosen on the basis of competence and integrity, not the spelling of their states. Anything less is not reform; it is self-inflicted sabotage.”