Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has said President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of his son-in-law as head of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) amounts to deep-rooted nepotism and a flagrant breach of the oath of office he took.
The rights group also condemned the persistent breaches of Section 14(3) of the Constitution on the Federal Character principle by Tinubu in his penchant to give all the most strategic appointments in the defence, finance and oil sectors to his kinsmen, instead of spreading those appointments that touches on the national economy.
In a statement, yesterday, the group called on Tinubu to be a statesman that he claims to be by giving appointments to Nigerians from every facet of the ethno-religious dimensions, instead of concentrating appointments to his Yoruba kinsmen and to Hausa/Fulani Northerners.
Besides, HURIWA condemned the President for continuing the dangerous practice entrenched by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who appointed his family members into government positions considered to be juicy.
According to the rights group, FHA is a position considered to be very juicy due to the massive housing assets and funds available in its coffers.
It stated: “The argument that the son-in-law of the President is also a citizen, who should get appointment, does not follow, because his father-in-law is the appointing authority, which makes his appointment nepotistic and dishonourable.”
HURIWA noted that under the infamous administration of Buhari, his biological relations held some of the most powerful positions inside the presidential villa, a practice that violated the Federal Character principles under Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
It blamed Buhari’s nepotistic appointments for the massive scale of corruption and economic crimes committed under his very nose. The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in the statement, recalled that Oyetunde Ojo is married to Tinubu’s eldest daughter, Folashade, just as a dominant percentage of the domestic staff of the President are all his former aides in Lagos State when he held sway as governor. He added that even when his tenure as governor was over and he wielded massive political influence as the political godfather of Lagos, those same persons were his personal aides.The rights group said it was wrong to bring the same set of people to the central government, as if the office of President is a personal estate.
